


Aim

by samoosifer



Series: Try/Aim/Succeed [2]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Frerard, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-09 22:09:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 40
Words: 79,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samoosifer/pseuds/samoosifer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a sequel of Try, the previous story. To understand this story you really do need to read Try.</p><p>Its almost been two years since Frank moved to San Diego with his boyfriend, newly found Mum and two sisters in everything but blood. With a promotion at work and Gerard and Frank being in the best place possible, a terrible phone call from Mikey back in Jersey is the last thing he expects. After the phone call Frank is left paranoid and worried especially when the phone call was only a week after Cole, pretty much his enemy, is let out of prison early. The only problem for you readers is, this is all gonna be in Gerard's point of veiw so you're not going to know exactly whats going on in Franks mind. Enjoy.</p><p>DISCLAIMER: I don't own any band members, alive or dead, mentioned in this fic. Any other characters are mine so please don't steal and pls dnt sue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fine In The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This one I messed up a lot with so if you have any questions or problems then don't hesitate to ask me bc I will explain it for you. As I have said before, I plan on rewriting the series so that everything is set straight and is right. Thank you for your patience and shit.

I stared at the screen in disbelief. The words coming out of the reporters mouth just didnt make sense.  
"Fraaank?"I found myself shouting.  
"Whatsup?"Frank's head popped round from the kitchen door, his long hair swinging down into his face. All over were little patches that looked grey. There was a spot of flour on his nose as well, making him look fucking adorable.

"Gerard, what?"He repeated,"Stop staring and tell me whats going on."  
"Right, sorry,"I said, blushing as I pushed my fringe out of my face,"Cole is out."  
Franks face drained of colour and his eyes widened,"Like, out out?"  
"Well what other 'out' is there?"  
"He could have come out of the closet?"Frank suggested, a smile threatening to break out,"I mean, it might explain some of the bullying and hatred. You know, denial and all that jazz."Frank shimmied his hips at the last four words. Ever since we had watched Chicago two weeks ago he was taking every possible moment to say all that jazz. It was fucking ridiculous.

"You're a dick,"I smiled,"And you've got flour in your hair. And on your nose."  
"No, Gerard. I like dick. There's a difference."Frank pointed an accusing finger at me then disappeared. I got up and followed him in, thoughts of Cole's release far from my mind. He was standing at the bench mixing muffin mixture vigorously. I moved behind him and wrapped my arms around him. I mosed his hair out of the way and kissed the nape of his neck.

"Gerard I have to get these muffins done,"Frank stopped stirring and sighed.  
"But I want to be done."I mumbled and kissed him again, slower. His stomach muscles tensed under my fingers as he let out a giggle.  
"Gerard, please. Later?"Frank turned around in my arms and looked up at me sweetly,"Before I go back to Mums. I promise."  
I kissed away the flour on his nose and said,"I'll hold you to that."

I let go of him and leant on the bench next to him,"You know... Ever since you got this promotion I've barely seen you. And the days we have off together, you're always fucking baking..."I said more to myself, an idea forming in my head.  
"Gerard not this again."Frank groaned and started spooning the mixture into the muffin tray.  
"Frank, I'm sorry. I cant help it. I just miss you..."I looked away from his hurt puppy dog stare bravely.

"Gerard, listen. I've been working there almost two years. I've got myself a good load of leave just aching to be used up. How about we take a trip back to Jersey. For my birthday?"Frank placed his hand on my arm and made me look at him.  
"Your birthday is 3 weeks away,"I grumbled.  
"Well that gives us two weeks to plan it. Together."Frank squeezed my arm meaningfully.  
"So that means it'll never happen..."I muttered. I was being a drama queen and I did not care. I missed my pumpkin.  
"Oh my god, Gerard."Frank rolled his eyes and let go to put the tray of uncooked muffins into the oven.

I glanced down at my arm then did a double take because there was fucking mixture all over it,"Frank! You got fucking shit on my jacket!"  
"So wash it off,"Frank shrugged his shoulders as he dried his now clean hands,"S'no big deal."  
"I'll show you no big fucking deal,"I growled and stripped my jacket off. Frank watched with interest as I acted casual about wiping the blueberry goo from my jacket.

When Frank turned away I swiped my hand through the last of the mixture in the bowl and darted over to Frank. I hid my hand behind my back and made him face me,"I'm sorry for over reacting before. I know you have to work and stuff but I just miss my pumpkin."  
"Gerard I know its stressful for you right now so dont worry. It makes me feel kinda special."Frank smiled, his cheeks dimpling. And then I wiped my hand across his face.

"Oh my god you bastard! You fucking- oh my god!"Frank spluttered and moved over to the bowl. He moved his on hand through, scooping mixture up and flinging it at me. It striped across my t-shirt and amde Frank cackle.  
"I'll fucking get you."I grinned. I pulled open the fridge and grabbed the first thing I could find. A bowl of cream from dessert last night. Perfect. I scooped my hand through it, trying to ignore the explosion of flour over the both of us, and aimed it at Frank. I rushed forward and smeared it on his hair as he squashed an egg on my head.

I sat the bowl down on the bench and grabbed Frank, pinning his arms at his sides,"Whatcha gonna do now, huh? You aint got no arms to fi-"Frank smothered my words in a kiss that tasted like cream and blueberries and Frank. In short, a fanfuckingtastic kiss. My hands slid down to his hips but I couldnt feel his anywhere. The next thing I knew was a cold trickling down the back of my head and neck.

"Oh my god you fucking dick! That is no fair at all! You suck!"I screeched as cream flooded my vision.  
"Here, let me help you,"Frank laughed and licked my face. Jesus christ, I was so fucking hard right now it wasnt even funny.  
"Frank you suck so much."I grumbled as I wiped cream out of my face.  
"Suck what?"Frank said from below me. My eyes flew open to see him on his knees and reaching for the button of my jeans.

"Oh fuck,"My dick jumped in my pants as Frank pushed me back until my butt hit the bench. In a flash my pants and boxers were down and Frank was getting up,"What are you doing?"I breathed. He was grabbing the cream.  
"Just to sweeten this a bit more."Frank grinned at me.

"Mmph- fuck,"I moaned as Frank spread cream all over my dick. The cream was cold but his hand was warm and it created the weirdest sensation ever,"Jesus Frank."I gasped as Frank started licking up and down. One hand was at the base of my dick and the other was holding my hips down. Frank sucked in the head and moaned, sending vibrations and shivers up and down my spine.

"Fuck fuck fuck,"I closed my eyes and grabbed Frank's shoulders, squeezing like fuck.  
Frank pulled off and whispered in the suddenly silent kitchen,"Come for me Gerard. Do it. For me. Do it."  
"I'll do anything for you."I found myself panting, my hips bucking forwards as Frank continued his slow methodical sucking with a grunt.

My gut jump started and finally got with the programme, spreading the warm feeling down to my dick. I only just had the sense to squeeze Frank's shoulders even tighter before I was coming into his mouth. Frank just continued sucking until I had come down.  
"Oh jesus."I puffed as Frank dragged himself up my body and too his feet.

"I think the muffins are done."Frank muttered and leaned against me. To confirm the fact that I couldnt make Frank feel as good as I just did, a ding went off and Frank pushed away from me.  
"Frank do you want me to-"  
"Later man later. I dont want these to burn."Frank waved a hand at me with a smile, grabbing the oven mitts with the other hand.

I pulled my pants up and ignored the sticky feeling all over. Frank walked past me with the muffins, wafting the mouth watering smell towards me. I went over to him and went to grab one but he slapped my hand away.  
"Come on, Frank. Just one? To make up for not being able to see me?"I smiled sweetly at him, giving him my best puppy dog face.

Frank merely raised an eyebrow at me and said,"Gerard... I just gave you a blowjob... And now you want a muffin? Geez."  
"What can I say. I have tendancies to not only have my cake, but eat it too."I sighed dramatically. Frank was staring at me the way he does when he thinks about me. Every time he's randomly told me he loves me, he's had that look on his face.

Frank opened his mouth and said,"I-"  
I smothered his words in a kiss and smiled,"I love you too pumpkin."  
Frank stared at me, dumbfounded. I winked at him and went to grab a muffin but he snapped out of his intense moment and stepped in front of me.

"Fraaaaaaaank. I think I should be allowed to have one, considering it's my apartment you're baking these in,"I said defiantly, folding my arms and looking down at him. Even though he was a head shorter than me, the look of slight anger and complete amusement coupled with the way Frank was standing, was pretty fucking scary. If I wasn't careful I would end up crossing the line. Frank snorted at me and finished putting the muffins on the cooling rack as he said,"Yeah but you're not paying for this place. Your school is. If anything I should go give them a muffin."

"You suck,"I poked my tongue out at him.  
"We both know what,"Frank grinned.  
"Fuck. I feel disgusting right now,"I groaned as I remembered I was covered in flour, egg, blueberry muffin mixture and cream. I was like a dessert.  
"You have no idea,"Frank sighed and looked around,"Do you wanna clean first or shower first?"  
"Um. Clean I guess."I flicked a blueberry from my arm and opened the cupboard under the sink. I grabbed the packet of cloths and the cleaning shit.

"Right. I'll be back in about half an hour,"Frank said behind me. I shot up, smashing my head on the edge of the bench.  
"Fuck!"I clutched my head and ignored the immediate headache.  
"Oh shit are you okay?"Frank was suddenly at my side, guiding me into the lounge and onto the couch.

"Fine,"I gritted out. I opened my eyes and looked at Frank,"Where are you going?"  
"Work,"Frank said as he softly slid his fingers over a small bump on my head.  
"I thought you had the day off,"I could feel my stomach sinking already, dragging my heart down with it.  
"Yeah but I just have to take the muffins in."Frank got up. and went back into the kitchen.

I stayed sitting there, falling back into the cushions with a groan. My head hurt so bad. Frank returned with a bag of ice.  
"Here. Stay here until I get back. I dont want you getting hurt again."Frank looked down at me.  
"Frank I'll be fine. Its just a bump on the head. I'll start cleaning up okay?"I tried to get up but Frank pushed me back down and sat on my lap.

"You,"He kissed me,"Arent,"And again,"Going,"Again,"Anywhere,"Once more,"Okay?"  
"Well then neither are you."I dropped the ice bag and wrapped my arms around him.  
"Gee, come on,"Frank smiled and put his forehead against mine,"We dont have to go to Mums tonight. We can stay here all day and all night."  
"Yeah?"I looked into his eyes, almost going cross eyed.  
"Yeah..."Frank closed the distance between our lips, making it last long,"I just gotta take these muffins into work. While they're fresh."  
"Kay... I'll start cleaning. Then when you get back you're joining me in the shower."I kissed him back.

"Deal."Frank slid off my lap and went back into the kitchen. I got up and grabbed the ice bag before it melted. Frank was putting the muffins into a lunchbox.  
"Fwankie I got a booboo."I pouted.  
"You're not getting one."Frank said in a dead tone as he grabbed his keys from the window sill.  
"Fine."I sighed.

Before Frank left the kitchen I hooked my arm around him and pulled him in for a quick kiss,"Hurry back. I may have started the fight but you participated so I aint cleaning it all."  
"Yeah yeah whatever."Frank called as he strolled out.  
"Love you pumpkin!"  
"Love you too!"The door slammed after him and I was left alone to clean.

-time lapse-

Franks POV

"Dont wanna be an american idiot! Ba da da da da da da da da da!"I drummed my hands on the steering wheel as I waited for the light to go green. I could still smell the muffins even though they were now in a display case at work. I probably could have given Gerard one but he was whining like a bitch and besides, he got a blowjob. The toot of the car behind me pulled me out of my thoughts. The light was green. The guy sped past me once we had cleared the intersection, tooting and pulling the finger at me. What a dick.

My phone chirped at a message. It was the special one meaning it was Gerard. I ignored it and continued driving. I was only down the road from him anyway. My phone went off again. A second later it started ringing.  
"Geez,"I muttered as I pulled up outside a florist,"Hey whatsup?"  
"Did you get my messages?"Gerard sounded out of breath.  
"I havent read them yet,"I sighed and stared at a vaguely familiar figure up the road, outside Gerards apartment complex.

"They're just about what I'm about to tell you. We dont need to go over to Jersey anymore,"Gerard said excitedly. I could easily picture what he would look like right now. Gripping the phone tightly, that adorably big grin on his face.  
"Why's that?"I was barely paying attention. Inside the florist, a bunch of red and black roses had caught my eye. I needed to get them for Gerard. A second later I was getting out of the car and going inside.

"Frank, are you there?"Gerard said urgently.  
"Uh, yeah I'm here. Sorry what did you say?"  
"Mikey, Pete, Ray and even Bob are coming out here for your birthday. A big reunion."  
"Are you serious? Dude! Thats fucking awesome."I couldnt stop myself from grinning like an idiot. The girl at the counter was staring at me, patiently waiting.

"I know right? Mikey called and said-"  
"Yeah- Greard can you tell me when I get back? I just gotta do a thing at uh work and then I'll leave."I smiled at the girl and pointed to the red and black roses.  
"Oh okay... Its just, you said were just dropping the muffins off. Its amost been an hour."Jesus, Gerard sounded so broken up.  
"Yeah I know I got held up. I'll be back in half an hour okay? I gotta go its busy. I love you."I somehow managed to convey that I wanted 16 of the roses to the girl.  
"Love you too pumpkin."Gerard sighed and hung up.

"Girlfriend?"The girl asked casually.  
"Boyfriend."I muttered and put my phone in my pocket. The strong smell of flowers was starting to give me a headache.  
"Are these for him?"Her face lit up.  
"Yeah. To make up for me letting work take over,"I sighed and followed her over to the counter.

"Can I gift wrap them?!"She practically screeched at me,"Sorry I just love gift wrapping flowers and the roses are the best. They're black and red 'cause its halloween. Which is also why we have these awesome cellophane wraps. One has bats all over and the other has pumpkins,"The girl's face was glowing at the prospect of wrapping my roses.  
"The pumpkin wrap! Do it!"I grinned. It was perfect. Within a minute my roses were wrapped nicely and I was staring down at 3 different cards. One had love hearts, one had bats and, just my luck, one had pumpkins.

"Do I even need to ask?"She grinned,"Do you want it to say,'Sorry for not being there. Lots of love,' then your name?"  
"Ummm... Okay. Have it say,'Gee, sorry for working so much. I'll make it up to you. All my love, your pumpkin.' with a bunch of kisses,"I smiled.  
"Why does he call you pumpkin if you dont mind me asking?"The girl said as she wrote what I said in pretty scrawly writing.

"My birthday is on halloween and my first birthday with him, we were at my Mum's for my halloween themed party. My little sister was dressed up as a pumpkin and at some point, she put it on me."I smiled as I remembered the look on Claire's face at my zombie-gone-pumpkin costume,"Anyway, I was wearing that for the rest the night and my mum was carrying a bowl of pumpkin soup and she slipped and soakedme with it. Ever since then Gerard's just called me pumpkin."I gave her 40 bucks with a smile.  
"Aww, thats so cute. How old's your sister?"  
"She's 5 and a half."I took my change and picked up the roses.  
"Thats so cute. I hope your boyfriend likes these. Have a good day!"She waved.  
"Yeah, you too. Thanks,"I waved back and left.

Gulping in fresh non flower smelling air, I got back in the car. I set the roses down on the passenger seat and smiled. These roses were gorgeous. Gerard was gonna love them. In the next two minutes I as pulling up outside the apartment complex. I walked up to the front doors and buzzed Gerard's apartment.  
"Hello?"The intercom crackled slightly. In the background I could hear some sort of music playing.  
"Hey Gee. Wanna let me in?"

"Dammit, you're here sooner than I expected."Gerard said as the doors beeped themselves open.  
"Well sorry for getting you- leaving work so soon."I grumbled.  
"No no- just come up. You'll see what I mean."Gerard clicked off so I darted through the doors before they closed and went up to room 815.

"Whoa,"I stared around at the lounge. There were two very battered boxes sitting open in the middle of the room, spilling their contents everywhere,"Did a halloween store throw up in here?"  
"Ha ha,"Gerard rolled his eyes at me from untangling a whole pile of bat lights,"I would have finished before you got home if you had taken just a bit longer."Gerard sighed.

There were halloween decorations everywhere. Lights, bats, ghosts, spiders and of course, a giant pumpkin on the wall. Except there were little love hearts all over the pumpkin. Cute.  
"Yeah well I lied. I wasnt at work I was at the fl- shit."I sighed and grabbed the card key to get inside the building,"I got you something but I left it in the car."  
"Ooooh go get it."Gerard clapped his hands through the lights.  
"I'll be back in a sec,"I called and walked out.

"Hey Frankie."Gerard's next door neighbour waved as I past his open door. Jim was an interesting character. His girlfriend Chloe was pretty awesome and knew how to keep Jim safe. He had a similar thing to what Gerard sometimes gets. The only difference was his sense of moral and any sane thoughts just black out. At the best of times he's dangerous. At the worst he can be deadly. But he has meds for it.  
"Hey Jim."I called. I rushed back down to my car and unlocked it. It was stiflingly hot inside and already a few petals on the outside roses were wilting. Fuck.

I raced back upstairs and found Gerard starting to string the lights up.  
"Oh my god. Frank. These are fucking beautifully awesome."Gerard stared in awe. I stood in silence, a smile spreading across my face as he walked up and took them from me.

"You'll make it up to me huh?"He raised an eyebrow at me with a smirk.  
"You bet."I looked at him and let the smile turn to a grin.  
"Thank you Frank."Gerard put the flowers down on the coffee table and came over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and put his forehead against mine,"I love them."  
"I love you."I stood on my tiptoes, putting my hand at the back of his head, and kissed him.

Gerard kissed me back hard and backed me up against the door. I moaned into Gerard's mouth and gripped his back as he ran his hands thorugh my hair, down my sides, up my chest and onto my neck.  
"Fuck."I moaned loudly as Gerard moved his mouth down my jawline and onto my neck, his hands travelling down.

"Frank I wanna- can I fuck you?"Gerard whispered, his voice tickling my skin.  
"Can you get it up?"I gasped. Fuck. I hadnt meant to actually say that. It was just the first thought that came to my mind cause I blew him earlier.  
"Dick. It's already up,"Gerard started tugging me backwards until he found the couch. Then he turned around and pushed me onto it.  
"Fucking do it then,"I clenched my eyes shut tight as Gerard finally got my dick out, freeing it from its restrictions.

Gerard grunted in response and licked at the head. I grabbed the couch and squeezed. Fuck it felt so good. Gerard moaned as he sucked my whole dick in. I opened my eyes and almost came just at the look of pleasure on Gerard's face. Suddenly he pulled away and winked at me before rushing into his bedroom. A second later he was back, pants half undone and his junk hanging out. He roughly slid a condom on before grabbed my jeans and tugging them down to my ankles. I kicked them away and pulled Gerard on top of me for a kiss.

"Fuck I love you so fucking much,"Gerard whispered as he bit my collarbone, swiping his tongue at the spot every now and then. I could barely respond I felt so far away right now. The only thing I could feel was Gerard's mouth on me and little zings travelling up and down my body. And then suddenly Gerard's moist fingers were spreading me apart, achingly cold from the lube but they warmed up straight away.

"Jesus- Gee just- fuck- me,"I panted as I reached down and grabbed Gerard's dick. He shouted out, letting go of my collarbone for a second.  
"On it,"Gerard puffed and pulled his fingers out of me and replaced them with his cock. We both let out a loud moan when he pushed in slowly, burying himself to the hilt. He dragged himself almost out before thrusting back into me with a slam and a curse. He started moving faster, kissing me roughly all over.

"You- you need to shave."I gasped as Gerard rested his cheek against mine, his stubble itching my face.  
"Get- fucked,"He let out a shaky laugh, hooking my hand around his neck, holding him against me.  
"I- am you dick,"I started giggling, tensing up everywhere.  
"Oh jesus christ,"Gerard turned his head slightly and smothered my lips with his.

Our tops and hair were soaked with sweat. Gerard's tasted weird. Salty sweet and- dusty. I glanced up and saw that he still had flour and cream and shit in his hair.  
"You- taste like- jesus christ!"I shouted out, forgetting what I was going to say.  
"I- taste like jesus christ?"Gerard panted, dragging his hands down my chest.  
"I- fuck up. Shit. Ge-Gerard. I'm gonna- fuck. I'm gonna come."I moaned, getting louder and louder as Gerard pulled me closer and closer to the edge. Then he started jerking me off. Which just pushed me off the fucking cliff and sent me into complete free-fall blackout as I came.  
"Oh jesus- fuck- oh man. Oh god Frank."Gerard's body spasmed as he came as well. He rode out our orgasms before collapsing on top of me.

We stayed there for a while, panting to catch our breath and trying to get over how fucking awesome that was. Gerard let out a choked laugh and rolled off of me and onto the couch next to me.  
"We should tell Mikey we just did that on your couch. He'll never touch anything in your place."I giggled. Gerard laughed properly and let his head flop to look at me.  
"I want to tell the whole world what we just did. Get them all jealous of how fucking awesome my boyfriend is."Gerard smiled. He leaned over and kissed me sloppily before standing up.

"Shower?"He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I nodded and somehow dragged myself off of the couch and into Gerard's bathroom. In two minutes we were leaning on each other with the hot water cascading over us. We werent talking or anything we were just with each other. It was really nice. Gerard was right. I had barely seen him over the past month. He had just finished his exams and I had been trying to prove to my boss that I as worthy of the promotion. Fucking sucked. But now, especially this moment, all I wanted was Gerard with no disturbances.


	2. We've Got A Problem

Gerards POV

"So tell me, what did Mikey say about coming here?"Frank asked, his voice rumbling beneath my head. We were on my bed, Frank stretched out on one side and me lying the wrong way with my head on his chest. He was softly stroking my now, thankfully, clean hair. My roses were sitting in a big batman coffee mug on the windowsill of my room. I had dropped a few drops of water and now they dew drops were glistening in the sun, casting mottled spots onto the wall in some places.

"Oh yeah. I was cleaning the kitchen and he called, asked what we're doing over your birthday. I told him you wanted to go out to them and see them and he said thats what they wanted but because its your 18th they think you should be with LInda. You know, significant birthday and all. And I said you wanted to see them all and he said that he can solve that problem because Pete's parents are letting them come out here and Ray's Mum doesnt mind so long as he is safe and then, god knows how, Pete managed to convince his Mum to convince Bob's Mum to let him join us."

"Fuck thats awesome. That is probably the best present. Being able to see everyone on my actual birthday and not just through a fucking skype call at the library."  
"Wait til you get my present. You'll be eating your words,"I dont know why I said it. I still didn't know what I was getting him yet.  
"I better be,"Frank sighed happily. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun on my stomach and legs.

"Oh fuck off,"I groaned as my phone started ringing Mikey's ringtone.  
"Just leave it,"Frank stopped me from getting up. I looked up at him and sighed.  
"I cant. Its Mikey. It could be important,"I sighed and moved Frank's hand away from my chest and stood up. I snatched my phone from my nightstand and opened the call.

"Hey Mikey. Whatsup?"I said and lay down next to Frank. He snuggled into me and put his head on my chest.  
"Gerard? Is Frank with you?"Mikey said in a dead tone.  
"Uh- yeah he is. Mikey is everything okay? You sound w-"  
"Put it on speaker. Cole is here and would like to say something,"Mikey interrupted me.

I put it on speaker and held it out for us to listen.  
"Gerard? Frank? I still hate you. All of you. But I'm sorry. I- got ahead of myself,"Cole sounded different. Weaker. Like he had aged a thousand years.  
"Uh..."Frank uttered out and looked at me. I was just as shocked as he looked.  
"So um. Yeah. I forgive you for- messing up my body Gerard. So we good?"There was that superior demanding tone.  
"Uh- I- I guess so... I mean, I still hate you for everything you did you disgusting son of a bitch but- um... I dunno..."Frank scratched his head.

"I hope you're enjoying art school and work... Where ever you are anyway. You guys deserve at least that,"Cole sounded so vulnerable.  
"Yeah uh- en-enjoy being out. Um. I guess,"I shrugged my shoulders at Frank's confused face.  
Cole cleared his throat and said,"Yup um. Can you tell Lily that I'm sorry? I never meant to- to do that to her... I just lost control and went too far..."  
"I'll do that for you Cole,"Frank said quietly.

"You guys okay?"Mikey returned to the phone.  
"Yeah,"Frank grabbed the phone from me and stared at it angrily,"What the fuck?"  
"Hello to you too Frank. Listen, Cole came back here a couple of days ago. Yesterday he came to me at work and apologised. He said sorry for everything he's ever done to us. Then he asked where you guys are and-"  
"You didnt tell him did you?"I burst out. Fuck. I wouldnt put it past Cole to fake all this shit and try to get revenge or whatever. He was too good at holding grudges.

"No, jesus, I'm not that stupid. Give me some credit Gee. I just said that you'd moved for your art school. Dont worry. But anyway, he asked if I could call you but I was at work so I had to find him hust now. God the school's cafetaria stinks."Mikey's sigh rattled the speaker.  
"Are you at school now?"Frank said incredulously.  
"Yeah... Man, I almost feel bad for him. He's sitting by himself just staring at his food..."  
"Jesus. Wonder what prison was like for him..."Frank looked odd,"He deserves everything thats coming to him,"He said, suddenly firm and certain.

"Mikey we gotta go,"I sighed, remembering the peace I had felt what seemed like forever ago. Frank was getting weird as well,"Frank and I have some stuff to do before we go to Linda's."  
Alright well, once we sort out the dates and shit I'll- get fucked you dick,"Mikey snarled,"Fucking douche bag thinking I have something to do with shit."  
"What? To do with what? What shit?"I sat up straight, ignoring the head rush.  
"Nothing. So uh yeah I'll uh call you aha bye guys,"And then he was gone.

"The fuck?"I looked down at Frank. He looked just as confused as I was feeling,"I'm gonna call him back."  
"No Gerard. You can ask him what he is on about when he calls. Lie back down with me,"Frank patted the bed behind me, a flash of lust flickering across his face. I smiled and slowly lay back down.

We were silent for a few minutes before Frank broke it,"Whats this stuff you and I have to do?"  
"Well we have to finish putting the decorations up after our relaxation,"I murmered, feeling sleep start to wash over me.  
"Do you think maybe we could fit in a ma- Gerard are falling asleep?"Frank sighed,"Damn. I was hoping for a make out but if you're that tired..."

My eyes flew open to see Frank grin widely down at me,"I'm awake. I'm awake. I'm... I will... I'm awake."I babbled.  
Frank let out a giggle and kissed me on the nose,"Dont worry. That was just to wake you up. Cause you're right. Mum wants me home in an hour and we dont have time for anything like that. But if you stay the night... Well thats a different story,"Frank kissed me on the lips.  
"You suck dude. I thought I was gonna get to make out."I grumbled and sat up.

"I know I do. Come on,"Frank slapped me on the shoulder and then the bed tilted as he got up. I rolled my shoulders backward and stood up.  
"So tell me, why are you decorating? We'll be having the party at Mums. You know that right?"Frank said as he started stretching fake spider web everywhere.  
"Which party though?"I raised an eyebrow at him as I somehow pulled two sets of lights away from each other.  
"Um... My birthday slash halloween party?"Frank looked at me like an idiot.

"Frank you arent getting it. I wanna have another party. Once The guys get here. The best one will be your birthday at Linda's but I want one for just us and the guys and a few friends from school and work."I stared hard around the room,"Where should these go?"  
"Oh. Well thats actually a pretty cool idea. Uh maybe around this table? I'm assuming this is where food will go?"Frank pointed to where he had finished with the web and was sprinkling plastic spiders everywhere.

"Guess so,"I dragged them over and started looping them around everything. I picked up the photo with me and Frank at Disneyland and took it into my bedroom. No way was I having this broken. We had just gotten off of Splash Mountain and we were both soaked to the bone. Franks long hair was plastered around his face and mine had been cut short just the day before so I was fine. But we were smiling and the sun was setting behind the ride and even though most of the shit on the mountain was fake, it was a beauitful sight. The fact that there was a grinning Frank with his hand in mine just made it so much better. This was only two months ago and already my hair was just starting to come down into my eyes.

"Gerard?"Frank came in and made me realise I had been staring at it for a while.  
"I love you, Pumpkin. Dont ever forget that,"I turned and faced him, setting it down on the bed.  
"I love you too. Now come on, I aint doing this myself,"Frank smiled and pulled me back into the lounge.

-time lapse-

"Frankie! Look what I can do!"Claire screamed at us when we walked in.  
"Hey kiddo. You been practicing?"Frank swung her up onto his shoulders as I shut the front door.  
"Yeah! Come see!"Claire clapped her hands as Frank pretended to wobble into the lounge.

"Hi boys,"Linda called from the kitchen. I could smell a roast chicken cooking and it made my mouth water. I followed Frank into the lounge where he was perched on the floor in front of the fireplace and Claire was getting her fingers in position for a chord.  
"Thats so good Claire!"Frank stared in awe as she managed to change chords finally. For her birthday in march Frank had gotten her a small acoustic guitar and had started to teach her to play. She was an extremely fast learner and was already starting to learn her first song, American Idiot. The only trouble she had was changing chords smoothly and without stopping.

"Claire I'm so proud of you. Well done,"Frank hugged her as Linda walked in the room.  
"She's been practicing those two chords for an hour, desperate for you to get hime,"She smiled and flung the tea towel in her hands over her shoulder,"Claire, go and wash up for dinner aye? And tell your sister to as well,"Linda called as Claire ran upstairs.

Frank moved from the floor and sat down next to me. I put my arm around him and closed my eyes. I was so fucking tired all of a sudden.  
"Are you boys okay?"Linda sat down in front of us on the coffee table,"I heard about Cole."  
"Yeah he uh he got Mikey and-"  
"What?!"Linda cutover Frank.  
"No, Mum, listen. He went to his work and said sorry yesterday. Then today Mikey called us and put Cole on the phone. He apologised and told me to tell... Lily... Spea of the devil,"Frank's eyes had narrowed and he was pushing himself up from the couch,"Speak of the devil..."

Lily slowly edged into the lounge looking nervous and scared. I didnt blame her. Frank looked fucking scary. He was staring at a boy behind her. He was slightly taller than Lily and he had mostly black hair just above his shoulders but the front of it was a bright burnt orange. He had a skull dangling from his right ear and his blue eyes were surrounded with thick eyeliner. The tension in the room was ridiculously high. I stood up and stood next to Frank. Jesus, I could feel his fear and anger coming off of him.

"Frank this is Sam,"Lily said nervously, tugging Sam further into the room. The poor guy looked terrified.  
"Sam! The famous Sam! I've heard so much about you. Come. Come sit. Sit,"Frank grabbed him and dragged him into the armchair next to the fireplace.  
"Frank what are you-"It was useless. Frank was completely focused on this guy. Lily took a step closer to them, uncertain of what was going to happen.

"So tell me about yourself. What music do you like? Are you a homophobe? You planning on kidnapping and raping Lily?"  
"Frank! Frank stop. Just-"Lily grabbed him and pulled him round to face her,"Fucking stop it. I told you about him. He is fine. I'm fine. I trust him. Okay?"She gave him an equally scary look, meaning they had talked about this before. Lots.

Sam stood up and said quietly,"I uh I like lots of music. But I have two favourite bands, All Time Low and the other band I cant remember the name of. Something to do with chemistry. My best friend's brother is in All Time Low and knows the band. They came here for a visit and showed me these songs from this band. They're fucking genius. Apparently they were about to be signed and then two of the members just disappeared. I'm not a homophobe either. The singer and my best friends brother are together. And I think Jack said something about two of the guys from the other band being together or something. As for the kidnapping and raping? No. I would never do that to anyone. My sister was raped once and its- not nice. No. Linda, did Claire say dinner was ready?"Sam turned to her. His face was flushed and his eyes were shining but Lily was grinning at him and Frank was looking completely confused.

"Nice,"I nodded at Sam. He grinned and followed Lily into the dining room.  
"How- how many times have you been here before?"Frank said slowly. He was still standing, staring at nothing.  
"Come on, we'll talk at the dinner table,"I sighed and pulled him with me. We all sat down at the table and started to eat.

"Wait- where's Claire?"Frank dropped his knife and fork and stared round the table,"CLAIRE?!"He bellowed, giving us all a fright,"Shit. I'll go see where she is."  
"I'll come with you,"I scraped back my chair and followed Frank out of the dining room in a rush.  
"Claire? Hey kiddo where are you?"Frank thumped up the stairs and burst into her room.

She was sitting against her bed crying,"Go away Frankie,"She sniffed. I stopped and waited outside the door.  
"Hey Claire, whats wrong?"Frank softly closed the door behind him.  
"I cant play..."Claire's voice got quieter as I went back downstairs.  
"She okay?"Linda looked up at my sad face.  
"Yeah she is just a bit upset over not being able to play or something. Frank's dealing with her,"I sighed and sat back down.  
"Oh my poor baby,"Linda sighed.

Frank and Claire walked in and sat down without a word.  
"Sorry I'm late to dinner everyone..."Claire sniffed a few seconds later.  
"Its alright sweetie,"Linda smiled. Frank looked interesting. He was hungry, angry, worried and, my god, horny. He had that look in his eyes and I knew one of us would be staying at the others tonight.

"So Sam. How's school going?"Linda broke the awjward silence that had settled.  
"Hows school? Mum you should be finding out if he has serial killer tendancies,"Frank grumbled.  
"Frank,"Lily stopped moving and stared at him,"Will you just stop? Has it not occurred to you that not every person I meet is a pyschopathic dick? That maybe there are awesome people in the world that actually want to be my friend?"Lily glared daggers at Frank.

"You'll have to excuse Frank. He can be a bit over protective of Lily sometimes,"Linda sighed.  
"Over protective? Mum, he's acting like a fucking nut job,"Lily jabbed her knife in Frank's direction.  
I could see Frank gearing himself up for a counter attack so I turned to Sam's flushed and awkward face,"Hey Sam. All Time Low. That name sounds familiar. Where are they from?"

Frank was rambling about his every right to protect Lily now. This was gonna take a turn for the worst.  
"I uh-"Sam glanced at the quarreling Lily and Frank. Linda had her head in her hands and Claire was oblivious as she played with her food. Sam shrugged his shouldres and said,"They used to live in Jersey but when my best friend's dad got sick a few months ago they all moved over here for Jack."  
"Wow thats pretty awesome of them!"I shouted over the top of Frank and Lily's shouting. I looked down to where Linda was watching them.

"Let them get it out,"Linda mouthed when she caught my eye. I nodded and sat back in my seat to watch the show.  
"... dont need your protection! I'm a big girl Frank I think I can handle the big bad world without you!"Lily screeched.  
"You got yourself kidnapped and raped! Dont you go telling me you handle the big bad fucking world without me because you fucking cant!"Frank glared back.

"Got myself? Yeah, thats right, I wanted Cole to come in and rape me and kidnap me while you were out doing god knows what with fucking Ryan,"Lily said sarcastically,"Just get fucked you stupid fucking faggot!"  
I froze. As soon as she'd said it she regretted it. You could tell by the way her face fell, rapidly draining of colour. Frank slowly stood up next to me. I saw the hurt in his eyes for a second before they clouded over,"You bitch,"He whispered.

"Alright!"Linda stood up and thumped her fist on the table. We all jumped and looked at her,"I will not have you calling each other names like that. Both of you. Rooms. Now,"Linda glared at them both.  
"I'm staying at Gerard's tonight,"Frank took a step away from the table.  
"But Frankie you said you would sleep here,"Claire whined, suddenly tuned in to what was going on.  
"I know kiddo. I'm sorry but I dont- I cant tonight. Hey. What if,"Frank glanced at me,"What if you stay the night with Gerard and I?"

"Yeah!"Claire squealed and clapped her hands.  
"Frank its a school night,"Linda sighed,"Claire finish your dinner. Lily, I said go to your room. Now. Sam, I'm sorry about all this. Would you like me to give you a lift home or do you want to call your parents?"  
"I'll call my Dad,"Sam smiled and stood up, pulling out his phone as he left the room.

"I promise I wont keep her up late like last time. And I dont start work til ten so I can take her to school no problem,"Frank waggled his eyebrows at her. He was putting up a front, hiding just how hurt he really was. Lily was still standing there, unsure if she should try talk to him. She caught my eye and I shook my head at her.  
"I'll handle him,"I mouthed as Linda sighed and nodded and Frank.  
"Go pack her stuff,"Linda fell back down into her seat with a huff as Lily rushed out and upstairs.

Sam came back into the room and said,"My Dad will be here in half an hour. Want some help cleaning up?"  
Frank rolled his eyes as he grabbed me and dragged me out of the room. I could here Linda grumbling about him doing nothing around the house.  
"Frankie-"I started to say.  
"Later. When we get to yours. I dont wanna talk about it right now. Just wait til Claires in bed,"Frank said quietly.

I nodded even though he was in front of me. Frank had somehow gotten it into his head that it was his fault Cole was able to do that to Lily. He said that if he hadnt been walking the streets feeling sorry for himself he would have been there to take her place. No matter what I did or said, I couldnt change his mind and it sucked.  
"Frank wait,"Lily said from her bedroom as we passed. Frank ignored her and shut Claire's bedroom door once we were inside.

"You know!"Lily yelled through the door,"You go on about protecting me but if you had actually done that in the first place, Cole wouldnt have been able to hurt me!"Lily thumped the door and stomped back to her room, slamming the door behind her.  
I was so fucking angry all of a sudden,"That bitch!"I hissed.  
"Gerard dont,"Frank sighed and sat down on Claire's bed.  
"How fucking dare she!"I started pacing out my anger.  
"Gerard!"Frank shouted, making me freeze in my tracks,"Cool it."

I took a deep breath and sat down next to him,"You know its not your fault right?"  
Frank sighed heavily and looked at me through the side of his hair,"Is it though? If I had just gotten over myself then I would have been there. He wouldnt have even touched her..."

God, he sounded so dead and ashamed. I cupped his face in my hands and looked him in the eyes,"Frank. You have to believe me when I say this. It is not your fault. You couldnt have known that Cole was gonna go nuts. Okay? It was just bad luck that you werent there that night,"I kissed him,"There. I sealed it with a kiss. Its true."  
"Frank giggled and fell on me,"Fuck. I ruined dinner didnt I?"  
"That you did,"I sighed as I stroked his hair.

"I'll pack Claire's things then say sorry,"Frank groaned and stood up. Claire burst into the room, her face scrubbed clean of gravy and a grin on her face.  
"Frankie are you taking me to school tomorrow?"  
"That I am kiddo,"Frank chucked her school bag at me. He grabbed another bag and started sticking her clothes inside as I swung her bag onto my back.  
"Do you have to go to work straight after?"Claire sat said as she climbed onto my lap.

"Not straight away. Why, you got a painting you wanna show me?"Frank nodded at me. I scooped Claire up and stood up.  
"Yeah! Its one of you and Mummy and Lily and Gerard!"Claire giggled. I followed Frank into the dark hallway.  
"Awesome. Hey Claire, you wanna grab your toothbrush and I'll meet you downstairs?"  
"Okay!"Claire somhow jumped out of my arms and ran into the bathroom.

"Gerard what are you doing tomorrow?"Frank asked as we walked downstairs.  
"I am..."What was I doing tomorrow? I had no idea,"I'm not sure. I think I'll call Mikey and settle the details. I dunno. Not much at all."  
"Okay well do you wanna come by work at about uh... I start at ten... Get my break aaaattt... 3. Come by at 3 and we can grab a late lunch together,"Frank smiled.  
"Deal. Do you want me to drive us?"  
"Uh yeah... Hey Mum?"Frank rounded into the kitchen. Linda was next to Sam, elbow deep in hot soapy water and Sam was drying dishes, humming quietly.

"Mmm?"Linda glanced at Frank.  
"I dont finish til 6 tomorrow so you'll have to pick Claire up after school,"Frank leant against the island bench top.  
"I'll get her,"I said,"Cause her things will be at mine so I can take those, grab her from school and drop her home."  
"What about our late lunch date?"Frank asked as Claire came running into the room.

"Oh um... What if she joins us? Then we can take her home afterwards."I raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Sounds good. You ready to go kiddo?"Frank handed me the car keys.  
"Yup."Claire smiled. She gave Frank her toothbrush and went to Linda.

"You be good okay sweetie? I'll see you tomorrow alright?"  
"Love you Mummy,"Claire hugged her tight.  
Linda kissed her on the cheek, putting lipstick on her face,"I love you too."

"Right come on. Lets get going. I'm exhausted,"Frank sighed.  
"I'll see you tomorrow then Frank. I want you home tomorrow night okay?"Linda gave him a kiss on his cheek.  
"Yeah okay. You better sort her out,"Frank glanced at the door as Lily slowly walked in.  
"I'm leaving that for you, Frank. Go. Its getting late. Love you,"Linda pushed Frank away.  
"Love you Mum,"Frank grabbed my hand and Claires hand and started walking out.

"Frank. Please. I'm sorry okay?"Lily said behind us. Frank continued ignoring her. As we went outside I heard her start crying. Frank wordlessly helped Claire into the backseat then climbed in the front. I looked at him from my seat and sighed. He was doing that whole 'depressed stare out the window' thing. The drive to mine was just as silent but once we were inside Claire started going on about the decorations and Frank was telling her about Mikey and the others coming over.

"Frank, its almost 8 o'clock. I think she needs to get to bed, dont you?"I sighed. Claire yawned just to emphasize this.  
"Claire! Bed! Now! Go!"Frank stood up and towered over her on the couch.  
Claire giggled and stood up straight. She saluted Frank and said,"Sir yes sir!"

Frank grinned as she ran into the spare bedroom, giggling the whole way,"I'll sort her out, do you wanna go get the bed ready?"  
"Yeah sure,"I smiled and went into my bedroom. The first thing I noticed was the stench of alcohol mixed with- blood? I turned the light on and almost jumped out of my skin.  
"Jim? What the hell are you doing in here?"I quickly closed the door before Claire heard he was here. She liked to play hide and seek with him sometimes.  
"I'm sorry Gerard. I didn't know what to do though and- I wanted to talk to you about it but you weren't here so I- I waited,"Jim sniffed.

He was sitting on my bed with his back to me, staring out the window.  
"Jim, whats happened? Are you- jesus,"I moved round to his side of the bed and gasped. He was soaked in blood. Absolutely covered,"Jim what the hell happened? Is that- your blood or- or someone elses?"

"I- I didnt mean to..."Jim whispered. He looked down at his bruised and bloody hands. I could barely breathe.  
"Jim what did you do?"I sat down next to him. Fuck, the sheets were gonna be stained with blood.  
"I got home and he- they were drinking beer in our bed and... She- I just got so mad you know? That horrible uncontrollable rage that just makes you shake and want to cry and rip someones head off all at the same time. I couldnt calm down. She said she- I was scaring her and- she moved away from me and knocked a beer bottle to the floor and I just snapped. Gerard I killed him. I took a mans life away..."Jim put his hands in his head and started sobbing.

"Jim I'll be back. Dont move okay?"I slowly stood. I put what I hoped was a reassuring hand on his shoulder before rushing out o the bedroom. Frank was just closing the door to Claire's room.  
"She's finally falling asleep. I had to tell her a fucking story,"Franks eyes dropped from my stricken face to my hand,"Thats blood Gerard why is there blood on your hand?"  
"We've got a problem."


	3. Hallucinations

'We've got a problem,"I gestured to the bedroom.  
"Gerard what did you do?"Frank sidestepped me and started moving towards the door.  
"No wait! It's Jim,"I grabbed Frank with my clean hand.  
"You killed Jim?"Frank looked at me, shock and fear spreading across his face. Jesis he thought I had killed someone.

"What?! No! I walked in and he was sitting on the ned covered in blood. When he finally told me what happened he said that he got home and his girlfriend was in bed with a guy drinking beer and he snapped and killed them both."  
"Jesus christ... Right well um... Should- should I go check the apartment? See if- they're still alive maybe?"Frank suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I dont think we should go in there. I mean, we could already be suspects or something. Just call the cops I'll go and check on Jim,"I moved back to the bedroom door. Frank nodded and went to the kitchen where the phone was. I opened the door and went to sit on the bed but stopped. Jim was on the window sill now, the window wide open and his legs dangling out.  
"Jim? Why dont you get down from there. Come on, we can get you cleaned up aye?"I slowly took a few steps closer.

"Gerard... I killed him. I decided that they didnt deserve to live... Oh god... Chloe is going to hate me... He- he was our best friend... He was gonna be my best man... And I killed him. Brad's parents... They didnt deserve to lose their son... I dont deserve to live..."The whole time Jim had been saying this I had slowly been edging closer. I was right next to him and he still didnt know I was this close. Jim turned to me just as I grabbed his arm. I meant to pull him inside but he had gotten a fright and tried to move away from me. But there wasnt anywhere to move to. So now I was calling for Frank to help me haul Jim back in the window.

"Let me go Gerard!"Jim shouted.  
"Jim! I'm not letting go! For fucks sake we can help you! Frank where the fuck are you?!"  
"Jesus!"Franks arms were suddenly around me, tugging me backwards. We were up on the 8th floor. If he dropped he would most likely die.

"I said let me go!"Jim screamed. Frank and I pulled harder.  
"Whats all the noise? Oh my god!"Claire was suddenly popping her head out the next window.  
"Claire! Get back inside now! Stay in there and dont come out until we say so!"I yelled as Frank and I managed to get Jim bit by bit closer to the window. Frank let go of me and moved next to me.  
"Jim! Take my hand!"Frank shouted. He slowly reached up and grabbed Frank's hand with his free one. After that it only took a few more seconds to haul him inside. We were all collapsed in a pile, trying to catch our breath.

"If I had walked in two seconds later than I did this would have looked totally wrong. Anyone wanna tell me whats going on?"A gruff amused voice said behind us. We all turned in the doorway, looking down at us all. A second later another cop came up behind him and said not too quietly,"Two bodies in there. One mutilated the other an unconscious woman. The fucks going on here?"

We all scrambled to our feet, Frank grumbling about there being blood on his t-shirt.  
"I'm gonna go check on Claire,"Frank sighed,"I just helped get the guy inside I dont know anything."  
"So uh- Jim here, um... Do you wanna tell these guys what happened?"I turned to where Jim was slowly edging towards the window.

"No Jim get away from the win- no! Holy fuck!"I thumped into the wall in time to see Jim hit the ground 8 stories below. My mind went blank. I couldnt believe he had just done that. One of the cops said something about getting an ambulance here or something and the other one just guided me onto the bed, talking nonsense about getting me someone to talk to and everything is gonna be fine.  
"Claires fine shes- wheres Jim?"Frank looked from my face to the window and his face just crumpled up.

"Frank once we sort all this out I think we should take Claire back to your Mums,"I said quietly. Frank came and sat next to me without a word.  
"Jim he- why would he do that? Surely he could have- he ahd been drinking Frankie..."I found myself saying,"He cant have taken his meds and- Chloe jesus. I've met Brad once and he seemed really nice... Fucking hell."  
"I know Gerard,"Frank pulled me into a hug and we just stayed like that for the rest of the night, the whole thing passing by in a blur. Telling the poilice what we could. At some point one of them told us Jim didnt make it but Chloe did. Then Frank had somehow gotten me and Claire downstairs and into his car.

"Sorry its so late Mum,"Frank whispered as he carried in a sleeping Claire. I stumbled past him and up the stairs. I needed a shower. Frank could tell her what happened. Ten minutes later I was standing under the boiling hot water and Frank was coming into the bathroom.  
"Been a big night,"I said and wiped the side of the shower so I could see Frank through the glass.

"You could say that,"Frank muttered,"Can I get in with you? I feel really gross and I need a hug."  
"Please,"Was all I could think of to say. Frank quickly undressed and joined me. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, resting my chin on his head. Frank held me tightly and started crying.

"Shhh... I know... Shhh..."I whispered. I closed my eyes and started swaying with him. After about 5 minutes Frank had finally stopped sniffing.  
"Gerard we're using too much water. Mum is gonna kill us probably,"Frank took a step back and grabbed the shampoo.  
"Too true,"I sighed. Frank squirted some out and handed it to me. Another 5 minutes and we were hugging each other just wrapped in towel.

"I'm not putting those clothes back on,"I groaned as I spotted dried blood on the shoulder of my t-shirt.  
"Here,"Frank opened the linen closet and pulled another towel out,"I think some of your clothes are in my room."  
"Mmm..."I plodded along wordlessly behind Frank and into his bedroom.

Frank flicked the light on as I dropped my towel and fell onto his soft bed.  
"Gerard do you wnat your boxers?"Frank bent over and held a pair up.  
"Nope. I'm fine like this,"I smiled as I wriggled under the blankets completely.  
"Fine, I'll let you sleep naked. But if Mum walked in in the morning and the blankets have fallen off she's gonna kill you,"Frank said airily and went to turn the light off.  
"Gimme the boxers,"I shoved my hand out and waited.  
"Thought so,"Frank said triumphantly and gave me my boxers.

I pulled them on under the blankets and waited as Frank put his own on and turned the light off before sliding into bed next to me. Frank rolled onto his side and I moved to spoon him. I kissed the back of his neck and whispered,"We can talk about stuff another night. I just wanna sleep and forget it all."  
"Sure thing... Love you Gerard,"Frank whispered back sleepily.  
"Love you too pumpkin,"I murmered. I kissed him once more before falling asleep instantly.

-time lapse-

When I woke up Frank wasnt gone and the clock on his bedside table told me it was half past ten. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling as everything of yesterday came back to me.  
"Jesus christ..."I groaned and sat up. It was a thursday. I was here by myself. And Frank had probably taken his car to work. I could either walk to see him or wait here all day til he gets back...

My phone buzzed from somewhere in the room. I spotted it fifty miles away on the window ledge.  
"Fuuuuck,"I moaned and somehow dragged myself out of bed. It was from Frank.

'Hope you're feeling okay. Persuaded Mum to go to yours and get some clothes for you. Your other ones are in the wash. Come see me at 2 for my break. Love you xx'

My eyes travelled round the room and found my clothes.  
"Frank you beauty,"I grinned. He had brought my favourite t-shirt. I quickly dressed and grabbed Frank's keys from his drawers then raced downstairs. This house was horrible when it was empty. It was sort of large and echoed a lot if there werent enough people. I hated being here without Frank. I grabbed a can of coke from the fridge then went to see Frank at work.

-time lapse-

Frank was so oblivious at work. He didnt even notice me slip past him and sit in the booth right down the end. Melissa appeared suddenly with a grin on her face,"Frank doesnt know you're here does he?"  
"Not a clue. Okay uh, give him the most difficult order you can think of and then my usual,"I grinned.  
"Got it,"Melissa winked at me then sauntered off.

I heard Frank swear behind the counter and grinned. I picked up my phone at a text and smiled. It was from Mikey.

'Yo, theres a new kid in town. His names Gabriel and Pete's convinced he likes dick but I dont think so. He doesnt seem to want to make friends. He's cute tho'

Two coffees thumped down in front of me and Franks angry voice said,"You fucking douchebag. I should have known it was you."  
"Hey pumpkin. Having a good day so far?"I smiled innocently.  
"Fuck you,"Frank pushed his hair from his face and sat in the seat across from me.  
"Sure you can sit here? Arent you supposed to be working?"I glanced at Frank's boss down the other end of the place.  
"I got a minute. I did a fuck load of baking at six in the fucking morning so I deserve a quick sit down."

I took a sip of my coffee and almost spat it out,"Jesus thats disgusting what the fuck was that?"  
"The bogus coffee you ordered,"Frank took a sip of the other one and smiled in delight,"This is your actual coffee."  
"Gimme,"I snatched at it and knocked the other one over. Hey no loss there.  
"Dick. Now I have to clean,"Frank groaned. He gave me my coffee and stood up.

"What time do you finish? I'll pick you up."I said and took a sip of my coffee,"Sweet mother fucking jesus thats good."  
"Thanks,"Frank smiled,"I finish at 5. And Mum did want me home tonight but that might be different after last night."  
"I dont know if I wanna stay at mine tonight... I need to clean my bedroom and shit but... Yeah..."  
"Well. If you're free at 2 come down for my break,"Frank leaned down and kissed me,"Gotta clean up now thanks to you. Be back in two tics."

I stared at the back of Frank as he rushed off behind the counter. A minute later he returned with a cloth and floor cleaner.  
"I'll clean my place after this coffee. Call Mikey then come down for your break. Sound good?"I stared at Frank again. He had his ass in the air as he cleaned.  
"You're staring at my ass arent you,"Frank stopped moving and looked at me over his shoulder.  
"Damn right I am. So does that sound good?"I grinned at him.  
"Sounds perfect. I'll ask Mum if she wants me home tonight,"Frank stood up and looked at me.

"Okay. I'm gonna go home to clean then I'll get ready for our lunch date and call Mikey,"I smiled. Frank nodded and kissed me again before sauntering off back behind the counter and out the back. I grabbed my coffee and yelled a goodbye to Frank even though he probably couldnt hear me before going outside. The bright sun blinded me for a second as I struggled to unlock his car.

"For fucks sake,"I muttered. I set my coffee on the roof of the car and jiggled the key around. It didnt work,"Fuck!"I yanked the keys out and stomped back inside. Frank was steaming milk with a grumpy look on his face. He looked up and his face lit up when he saw me.  
"Frank I cant unlock the car,"I grumbled. I took a sip of the coffee and immediately felt slightly better.

"Okay hold up. I'll just finish steaming this,"Frank said and turned back to the milk. A second later he thumped the jug down and cleaned the steam wand before turning to someone I didnt know,"Can you finish making these coffees? A large mocha and a large flat white with 2 sugars?"  
"No problem boss,"The guy nodded took Franks place. Frak came round to my side of the counter and took the keys from me. We went outside and he shoved the key into the lock and started wriggling it.

"You just- have to- give it a good- jiggle- fuck,"Frank stopped moved and stared at the broken key.  
"Well done. Now what?"I smiled.  
"Oops. Thats gonna delay things,"Frank sighed and started walking back inside.  
"Delay things? We cant drive your car anymore dick,"I followed him inside. A strong smell of muffins suddenly filled my nostrils and made my stomach rumble. I needed to grab something to eat soon.

"Gerard we've been over this. I like dick,"Frank said loftily then disappeared out back.  
"Disgusting,"An old woman nearby gave me a dirty look before walking out with her coffee. I scowled at her before following her out.  
"Hey!"I shouted and ran after her. I put my hand on her shoulder and made her stop walking and turn to face me.

She had the head of a cat. I blinked and rubbed my eyes and saw her normal pissed off face. Weird.  
"Call me disgusting all you want but you dont talk about my boyfriend that way,"I glared at her.  
"Get your hand off of me. Fag,"She shook my hand off and took a step back.  
"No. Come on, you can apologise to my boyfriend,"I grabbed her hand and started tugging her along.

"Get off of me!"She started pulling away but I kept a strong enough grip to keep her but not to hurt her,"Help! Help me!"  
Frank was standing outside Starbucks staring at us. Across the road, a cop was making his way towards us. Shit.  
"What the hell is going on here? Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to let her go,"The police officer said. He set his hand on his baton, in a slightly threatening way.

"I want her to apologise to my boyfriend,"I stopped walking and pointed to Frank who was now making his way towards us.  
"What? What did she say?"The cops face changed. I couldnt tell what it meant though.  
"She said we were disgusting. I told her she can insult me all she wants but she does not call my boyfriend names."  
"Just let go of me! This is insane!"The woman tugged but I kept a hold of her.

"So, lemme get this straight. This woman saw that you two were gay, called you both disgusting and now you want her to apologise?"The cop sighed.  
"Yes. Just because we like the same sex does not mean we are disgusting. We have feelings too you know. How would you like it if we called you disgusting because you like the opposite sex?"I turned my glare to the woman. She had stopped struggling now and was just looking impatient.  
"M'am. I'd like you to apologise,"The cop said quietly.

"Seriously? Wow,"Frank's shocked face turned smug. He hadnt said anything until now.  
"I- for goodness sake just- let- me- go!"The woman started tugging again.  
"M'am, I could have you for slander against the Starbucks company. Unless you apologise,"He looked at her seriously. Jesus, he was serious.  
The woman looked from his face to mine before looking at Frank,"I'm- sorry for calling you disgusting. I understand that what I did was wrong. You're not disgusting for- the way you are. Would you let me go now? I'm late for a meeting,"  
"Thanks!"I grinned and let her go. She glared at me before walking away as fast as she could.

"Gerard. What the fuck?"Frank grinned.  
"I know. I got so pissed off though. You went inside and she just called us disgusting and I wanted to slap her. Instead I got her to apologise. Ha! Did you see her stupid face?!"I shouted loud enough for her to hear.  
"Hey, dont go getting me to make you apologise to her now,"The cop smiled and walked away.  
"Hey thanks by the way!"I called. He waved a hand over his shoulder in response and disappeared around a corner.

'Anyway. I have some spare keys,"Frank held them up to me,"You just have to unlock it from the passenger side. Its not buggered there, I'll have to get that sorted later."  
"Right, well I'll get going. You need to get back to work,"I gave him a kiss and went back to the car as Frank went back inside Starbucks. I went round to the passenger seat and unlocked the car,"Fuck- shit- ow- bollocks- fuck!"I cursed and pulled my legs through the awkward space between the two seats and finally got into the right spot to drive.

-time lapse-

"Jesus..."I sighed. Where Jim had been sitting was a big red patch. It made me feel nauseous just looking at it. The cops had spoken to me about making a statement or something today but I did not have the energy to talk to strangers about seeing a good friend of mine kill himself. I turned around and left my bedroom. I pulled my phone out and dialled Mikey's number.

"Hey Gerard. Whats up?"Mikey answered on the second ring.  
"Hi Mikey I uh-"And then I burst into tears and told him everything.  
After about five minutes of me blubbering Mikey just said,"Gerard I'm really sorry but I've gotta go. I'll uh call you tonight though okay? I'm really sorry about this. Oi! What the hell do you..."And then he was gone. I stared at my phone in confusion. What the fuck? I dialled Mikey's number again but it went straight to voicemail.

"For fucks sake Mikey,"I grumbled. I threw my phone onto the couch and stared at it for a few seconds before picking it up again and calling Frank,"Come onnn pick up pick up pick up,"I sighed as it continued ringing. The sound of coffee grinding and loud chatter suddenly filled my ears.  
"Hi Frankie..."I sighed.  
"Gerard I cant talk right now,"Frank's out of breath voice said,"Call me again in about 15 minutes okay? Large flat white?!"And then he was gone as well. I shoved my phone into my pocket and went into the bathroom. I scowled at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a complete mess and my face looked like a zombie. It was close to two and I did not want to look like this for Frank.

I went back to my room to straighten my hair but faltered because of that god damn blood.  
"For fucks sake!"I shouted and ripped the blankets and sheets off. I dumped them in the corner and stared at the bare mattress,"Where the fuck are the sheets?"I grumbled. I stomped out into the lounge and stumbled over myself.

Frank was standing by the front door looking weirdly worried and- not real?"You alright? I got here as fast as I could. You didnt sound so good on the phone."  
I rushed at him and tackled him in a hug,"How'd you get off work?"I whispered.  
"Well you sounded really upset and I told them you sounded like you were in trouble and the ley me go on my berak early. Whats up? Gerard you look like you've seen a ghost,"Frank pulled back and scanned my face.

"I'm just in a really weird mood. I feel like my skin doesnt fit my body,"I wriggled around in his arms. He grinned at me but then his grin turned into a snarl and he shoved me down to the ground. I stared up at him and blinked.  
"Oh jesus,"I gripped the sides of the hand basin and looked at my pale face in the mirror,"What the fuck?"

I turned the tap on and splashed my face with water. What the fucking hell was that? I walked back out into the lounge and stumbled over myself.  
"Frank?"I blinked multiple times and rubbed my eyes.  
"Gerard? Gerard whats wrong?"Frank rushed over from putting his keys on the bench to me, worry in his eyes. That was more like Frank.  
"You're not gonna push me over are you?"I mumbled and fell against his shoulder.  
"Gerard why would I do that?"Frank slowly moved me onto the couch.

"When you didnt call back I got worried cause you didnt sound so good. I tried calling you but there was no answer so I got here as soon as I could."  
"Frank I think Mikey's in trouble,"I muttered and closed my eyes.  
"Shh I know just go to sleep,"Frank whispered, stroking my face softly. I leaned into his touch and then everything went black.


	4. A Date At Suicide Point

"...I know... Mikey I think- yeah okay fine- hes awake now I'll call you back,"Frank was pacing about in front of me but as soon as he saw that I was awake he sat down next to me,"How are you feeling?"  
"I feel fine... Whats the time? Shouldnt you be at work?"I groaned as a killer headache made its presence known.  
"I finished work like two and a half hours ago. Its almost 8 o'clock. Gerard you've been asleep for about 8 hours,"Frank scanned my face. He felt my temperature and scoweled,"You're burning up again."

"Again?"I raised an eyebrow at him. Then I noticed the wet flannel next to me.  
"When I got home from work you were moaning and wriggling around. At first I thought you were having a wet dream but they weren't the same noises you usually make. You were soaked in sweat and your forehead was burning hot."

I blushed stupidly at the mention of my sex noises but Frank's easiness about it somehow stopped me straight away. I closed my eyes and made a noise of distress,"Can you get me some water and panadol please?"  
Frank didnt say aanything. He just got up and got me my water and pilles. I swallowed it all without a word and flopped down so my head was in Frank's lap.

"What was Mikey saying? Is he okay?"I felt so woozy. Did someone drug me? The last thing I ate was fucking dinner at Linda's. That was over 24 hours ago. No wonder I was so dizzy. I was fucking starving. As if to confirm the thought, my stomach rumbled.  
"He said that he was worried about you and that I should wake you up. I didnt want to but right when I gave in you woke up so I didnt have to. Mikey's fine though, why do you keep worrying about him?"Frank asked quietly. He started running his fingers through my hair softly.

"When I got home I went to clean the bed but I couldnt- deal with it so I called Mikey and sobbed to him and he just said he had to go. Before he hung up I heard him yelling at someone else..."  
"That doesnt mean he's in trouble. It most likely meant that someone else was. You're just imagining things,"Frank leaned down and kissed the side of my head.

"Wait,"I said as a thought hit me,"You called Mikey? Cause you were worried about my fever and shit?"  
"Yeah..."  
"Dude why didnt you call your Mum?You know, the nurse?"  
"I- did not think of that shut up,"Frank stuttered.

I moved onto my back and looked up at him,"You made my headache better. But now my lips are sore,"I pouted.  
Frank smiled and kissed me on the lips,"Do you remember before you went to sleep? You asked me if I was gonna shove you over..."  
It was like a wall broke in my head. The horrible dizzy feeling came back even though I was lying own, along with the memory of my hallucination.

"Frank you dont think I'm getting what Jim had do you?:I scrunched my eyes up.  
"No why would you think that?"Frank's hand froze for a second.  
"I was hallucinating before you got here,"I flinched at Frank's look of confusion and upset as he analysed my story.  
"Its possible... When was the last time you ate though?"  
"Dinner at your Mum's,"I groaned. My stomach rumbled again at the talk of food.

"Right, what do you want to eat?"Frank sighed and slid out from under my head.  
"I'm not hungryyyyyy. Coooome baaaaack,'I whined. Frank's legs were a better pillow than the couch.  
"Bullshit. You say that now but if I put food down in front of you, you'd eat it,"Frank said from the kitchen, rifling through my almost empty pantry.  
"Fine. Can we go get take aways? I've got nothing here,"I sighed and dragged myself from the couch. Frank obviously wasnt coming back. Instead he was taking a swig of my coke from the bottle. I leant on the island and stared at him. He held it out to me silently.

"Thanks,"I mumbled and took it from him. The second the coke hit the back of my throat overwhelming hunger pains hit me. I swallowed and thumped the now empty bottle down on the bench and wiped my mouth.  
"Told you,"Frank smirked. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my car keys.  
"Uh uh. If you think you're driving you've got another thing coming to you,"Frank snatched them out of my hands.  
"Can we at least take my car? She hasnt been driven in weeks I feel so bad."  
"Yeah yeah whatever. Come on. I dont want you keeling over on me,"Frank grabbed his wallet and tuggeed me out and down to my baby.

"Look at this,"I swiped a finger across the dashboard,"There is a layer of dust from disuse. I'm sorry car please dont tell Bob,"I patted the dashboard, sending dust into the air. Frank rolled his eyes and started the car up. Or tried to.  
"I remember why its been so long since I've driven her. There's not enough fuel to even start the car. Fuck!"I thumped my head back and looked at Frank.

"Looks like we're taking my car,"Frank undid his seatbelt and got out. I got out and followed him out of the underground parking. His car was right outside the front doors, gleaming smugly in the sun. I glared at it as we got in.  
"You knew my car had no petrol didnt you,"I sighed and watched as he pulled his own keys out and turned the car on.  
"Damn right I did. You want some McDonalds?"Frank asked as he pulled out of the guest parking lot.

"Sure... Fuck yeah I want a big mac,"I sighed happily at the thought of a greasy big mac and chips.  
"Gross. Drive thru or sit in?"Frank turned a corner and maccas came into sight up the road.  
"Drive thru. Lets go up to Suicide Point like on our first night alone here,"I closed my eyes and smiled widely.

The first night that Frank and I had gotten to ourselves after the move, we had cooked together for the first time then packed it all up to take to this random as cliff over looking this small forest and downtown. During the day it looked pretty cool. At sunset it was gorgeous but right now it was already dark so everything would be lit up. This would be the first time for us to see it in the dark. The cliff had gotten its name, Suicide Point, because of the fact that there was about 10 to 15 suicides at this cliff on average every year.

"Hi there welcome to McDonalds, what can I get you?"A nasally sounding boy said.  
"Hi can I get a large coke zero with no ice and a chicken salad but without the chicken?"Frank caught me staring at him and smiled, Jesus he was beautiful. That smile just killed me.

"What dressing would you like with that?"  
"None thanks. Can I aslo get a large big mac combo with the same drink?"Frank said happily. My stomach rumbled loudly in the short silence and made Frank giggle.  
"Is that everything for tonight?"  
"Uh yeah-"  
"No! Can I get a large chocolate sundae as well?"I yelled, leaning over the top of Frank.  
'Times two,"Frank grinned.  
"Awesome. Drive on through."

Frank silently drove up to the window and smiled at the poor teenage boy of about fifteen covered in zits.  
"Thats 24 dollars and 30 cents,"He smiled back, revealing bright blue braces.  
"Gerard do you have your wallet on you?"Frank asked, biting his lip ring and holding a 20.  
"No its back home. You short? Oh stupid question. I know the answer to that,"I smiled cheekily.  
"Fuck you. I've got my card but I wanted to use cash ummmm. Ooh! I've got change in the glovebox. Gerard get it,"Frank turned back to the cashier,"Sorry. Just getting some more money."

I pulled open the glovebox and stared. It was filled with shitloads of coins along with shitloads of rubbish.  
"Here,"I grabbed out two quarters and gave them to Frank.  
"Alright thanks guys,"The guy muttered with a bored look on his face.

"He's friendly,"I said quietly. Frank promptly burst into laughter, giving the guy a fright which of course made me laugh.  
Drive on through,"The guy muttered.  
"Sorry thank you,"Frank giggled and accelerated forward. I opened my window and let the breeze waft over my face.

"Here take these,"Frank handed me the tray of drinks and ice cream then took the bag of food. God it smelt good,"Thank you!"Frank called as he sped off,"Right! To the cliff of destiny!"He grinned at me.  
"Destiny? This cliff is the most popular spot for suicides..."I raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Exactly! It could be their destiny to kill themselves and then to come back as someone who grows up to discover the cure for cancer. Destiny,"Frank's grin somehow got wider.

"You're a dick,"I smiled.  
"Gerard I thought we've been over this. I like dick. Geez,"Frank shook his head.  
"Mmm hmm. Your phone's ringing,"I pointed out.  
"Answer it for me idiot I'm in the middle of driving right now,"Frank braked hard, sending me forward suddenly, as a car pulled out in front of us. Frank tooted the horn and said loudly,"We would have crashed if I had answered it you know."

"I know. Hi Linda. Frank's driving right now."  
"Oh right. Frank told me about your fever. You feeling okay?"Her voice sounded strained, like she was under loads of pressure.  
"Yeah I'm okay now. I just havent eaten since I was at yours. We've gotten some dinner and we're going up to Suicide Point to eat it,"I said and pinched a chip from the bag.  
"Oh that sounds nice. You guys havent seen the city when its dark have you?"Linda gushed.

God, how much did Frank tell her about our mini dates?"Nope. This will be a first."  
"Right well tell Frank I want him to sort this thing out with Lily and I want him home tonight,"Linda said loudly.  
"Frank did you hear that?"I looked at him, odd shadows being thrown about his face with the dim moonlight and the random lamp post along the windy road up the cliff.

"I heard her. I'll be home late though,"Frank said even louder.  
"Well dont wake anyone up. Love you boys,"Linda practically shouted right in my ear before hanging up. I looked around and saw that we had reached the home made parking lot. I had only ever seen another person here our second time here during the day and they had left as soon as we had arrived. This place was sad and creepy.

"We getting out?"Frank stuck his hand out the window,"Doesnt feel too cold out there."  
"Can we sit on the edge?"I sighed as the breeze blasted me with its freshness again.  
"Sure,"Frank smiled. He grabbed the food from my lap and got out of the car. I got out and grabbed the drinks. Frank locked the doors the second my door was shut.

"How do we get over the fence?"Frank said as we walked over to it.  
"Um,"My eyes ran along the fence until I spotted a gap,"There."  
"How did you know that was there? You planning on taking the final plunge?"Frank raised an eyebrow at me as we trudged through the long grass.

"No. Dick. I used my eyes. I found it with them,"I smiled as he started shaking his head at me.  
"You have got to find a new insult because dick just isnt working,"Frank grinned as he stepped over the last wooden rail left in this part of the pathetic fence. I stepped over as well and followed him until he decided on a spot that seemed to be directly in the middle. I carefully sat down, dangling my legs over the edge, and gave Frank his drink. Our sundaes were turning to liquid but I didnt really give a damn.

"This is amazing,"I said as I actually took in the veiw.  
"Look at that. was past the city lights, that small patch of lights. Do you think thats another city or something?"Frank said as he pulled out his salad. He handed me the bag and I dived in. The first bite was like heaven. My stomach rumbled painfully in anticipation.

"Could be,"I said thorugh my third mouthful. Oh god this was good.  
"God damn I'm hungry,"Frank said and stuffed one of the biggest slices of tomato I had ever seen into his mouth.  
"Ditto,"I muttered and took another bite. My burger was disappearing fast.

"So... You wanna talk about it?"I glanced at Frank but he seemed oblivious as he cut up a huge piece of lettuce. He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his drink,"About what?"  
"Lily. That whole shebang?"I said and popped the last mouthful of burger into my mouth,"God that was good."

"Whats there to talk about?"Frank mumbled and looked away, sucking up his drink quietly.  
"How about the fact that she called you a faggot and told you to get fucked? Or that she blames you for her getting raped?"I suggested as I opened my sundae and dipped a chip in.

"How fucking dare she?!"Frank burst out suddenly, making me jump and drop my sundae, almost making me fall off as well,"I care about her so fucking much! Does she not realise how terrible I feel about not being there? The stupid cow... Sorry."  
"Shit. You're sharing yours with me di- douche,"I sighed as I watched my sundae spill chocolate sauce and melted ice cream everywhere as it rolled into the abyss and out of sight.

"Frank she has no right to blame you. But she was angry when she said it. It was said in the heat of the moment, she didnt mean it. You know that deep down. Same with the fag comment. I dont think she meant to get so angry,"I said thoughtfully. I shuffled closer to Frank and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I know... But it still hurts. Stupid customers? Yeah. Idiotic jocks? Wouldnt expect anything less from them but my best friend? That is not something you expect to hear no matter what... I need to talk to her dont I,"Frankl sighed and put his head on mine.  
"Yeah you do... But you need to make sure she-"I started to say but stopped because of someone shouting behind us. Frank and I turned around to see a young man in his twenties come rushing out of the darkness and into the faint light from the moon, waving his arms wildly.

"Dont do it!"He yelled.  
"The fuck?"I looked at Frank but he just shrugged his shoulders at me so we waited as this guy tumbled over the fence and stopped next to us, bent over and breathing heavily.  
"Uh are you okay?"Frank asked.  
"Dont. Do. It."He panted.

"Dont do what?"I asked but it was already hitting me. Frank must have realised as well because he glanced at me and said,"We're not about to kill ourselves. We just wanted to eat our dinner here like we have before..."Frank snorted.  
"Really? From far away it looked like you were. I mean, he dropped something and you started yelling and then he moved closer and rested his head on your shoulder? Looked like two lovers' last moments,"The guy seemed pissed off now. Probably because he had just ran all the way here for no reason.

"Well sorry to disappoint but we're not done in this world so..."Frank turned back around and started eating his sundae.  
"No- I'm not dis- sorry to disturb you,"The guy sighed heavily before turning around and walking with his shoulders hunched, disappearing back into the darkness.

"What the fuck?"Frank giggled.  
"I know... Jesus,"I grinned at him. I put my arm around him and kissed the side of his head,"Its starting to get cold. Do you think we should go to Linda's?"  
"Maybe... Lets just stay a moment longer,"Frank snuggled into me, wrapping his arms arpund my back.

"Gerard?"Frank whispered as the breeze tickled my face.  
"Mmmm?"  
"I love you,"Frank said firmly.  
"Love you too pumpkin,"A grin broke out on my face. zfrank could be such a douche bag sometimes but there was always these little instances where he was the sweetest little thing.

"Come on lets go. Mum is probably gonna be pissed off,"Frank sighed. We bum shuffled backwards so we could stand up without danger of falling. I kicked the last of our rubbish off the cliff and grabbed Frank's hand. Together we crossed back over the fence and went back to the car.

"How do you feel now? Still feel dizzy? Or tired?"Frank asked as he started the car up.  
"I feel fan-fucking-tastic,"I grinned.  
"Brilliant. Cause I feel naughty,"Frank winked at me and turned the head lights on. He started dribing down the twisty road to the bottom of the cliff but stopped,"Isnt that the dude that thought we were going to jump?"Frank pointed to a hunched figure up ahead.

I peered through the glass and stared at the figure,"Yeah I think it is... Should we ask him if he needs a lift?"  
"No! He could be a psycho. I mean, why would he walk all the way up here? We didnt pass him on the way up here so he must have already been up here. He was probably watching us,"Frank started moving forward again.

"Yeah but Frank what if he was going to jump or something... I dont know... Maybe you're right. Forget it,"I sighed and watched the guy as we drove past. He looked up at me as we passed and made me screech for Frank to stop. His face was covered in blood and he was screaming.

"Frank he's bleeding!"I shouted. I opened the door and flew out to the guy,"Are you okay?"I shook him. His face was stuck in this soundless scream. I shook him again as it started to rain heavily. Within a minute of me constantly shaking him, trying to get a reaction of some sort, I was soaked. I blinked the rain out of my eyes and was back in the car completely dry.

"What?"I rubbed my eyes and looked around.  
"Hmm?"Frank looked at me.  
I looked at him. He seemed completely calm. Raindrops started thudding on the roof of the car,"I-"I didnt want to ruin Frank's night. He had had such a nice time. We both had. It was really nice,"Nothing I just thought- nevermind."


	5. Chocolate Kisses Make Me Laugh

"So you feel naughty?"I whispered as we crept up the stairs to Franks bedroom. The house was pitch black except for a soft glow coming from the embers in the fireplace.  
"Shh Mum might still be up,"Frank giggled quietly. When we got up the stairs there was a light on in every room except for the bathroom and the spare bedroom. Claiires night light, Lily's lamp and Linda's main light.

"Told you she might be up,"Frank fell onto his own bed with a grin.  
"Yeah you said she might be up. You didnt know for sure,"I poked my tongue out and pulled my jacket off before crawling up the bed to lie next to Frank.

"Dude why are you competing? You didnt even like, make a bet that she wasnt up,"Frank ran his fingers through my hair, leaving his hand on the back of my neck.  
"True,"I smiled and trailed my hand up his leg and rested it on his thigh.

"So, you're just wasting time,"Frank breathed and pulled me forward for a kiss. I went to continue the kiss but Frank moved away.  
"I just wanna go say goodnight to Mum. Let her know I'm home,"Frank said to my look of frustration as he got up.  
"Well hurry,"I sighed and stretched out, taking up as much space as one person could on a double bed.

Frank quietly clicked the door closed and left me alone in the bright light. It was all silent for a minute before Frank started yelling,"What the fuck?! Lily! What the fuck is he doing here?!"He screeched. Oh shit. That cant be good. I bolted out the door and into Claire's room. She was already out of bed and looking scared.

"Hey Claire, its alright,"I picked her up and put her back into her bed.  
"Whats happening? Is Frankie here?"  
"Yeah, you remember Lily's friend Sam? I think he's here for a sleepover but Frank isnt that happy about it,"I smiled as tucked her in.

"I wanna see Frankie. I miss him,"Claire said sleepily.  
"How about this. If you can stay in bed for me, then I'll get Frank in here to tuck you in. That sound good?"I whispered. There wasnt anymore yelling but I could still hear them talking loudly.  
"You promise to bring him in here?"  
"I pinky promise,"I smiled and held out my pinky. She hooked her smaller one around it and shook.  
"Alright Claire I'll be back soon okay?"I sighed as Linda's voice boomed over Frank and Lily. Claire nodded as I carefully closed the door and turned around. Linda looked absolutely furious. Frank looked- fucking scarier than I had ever seen him and Lily looked ashamed and annoyed.

"You do not have the right to go into her room without knocking,"Linda pointed a finger at Frank.  
"Thank you!"Lily threw her arms up un the air.  
"Dont get me started on you missy. Sam call your parents. Lily get back into bed. I dont know what you were thinking! I'll deal with you in the morning because right now I have a head splitting fucking headache and I have to go into work early tomorrow. Now go to bed!"She screamed. Lily nodded and stepped aside as Sam walked out of her bedroom, phone to his ear.

Frank spotted me walking over and met me halfway.  
"Whats going on?"I whispered. Linda ignored us both as she followed Sam downstairs.  
"Lily snuck Sam into her room. I walked in and found them asleep in front of her tv. I knew Mum would never let her have a boy she hardly knows stay the night so I made fuss,"Frank grinned at me and started for his room.

"Oh, Claire wants you to tuck her in before you go to bed. She got a little upset,"I grabbed his shoulders and angled him towards her room.  
"Oh shit. I didnt think about her. Maybe I shouldnt have been so loud,"Frank sighed.  
"You havent been thinking of her all that much lately. She missed you Frank,"I said quietly as he opened her door.

"I dont need to tuck you in kiddo, you already are,"Frank put his hands on his hips.  
Claire giggled and kicked her blankets away,"Now you have to."  
"Cheeky,"Frank giggled back at her and grabbed the blankets. I leant on the doorframe and watched as he pulled the blanket up to her chin and kissed her forehead,"You go to sleep now okay sweetie?"

"Frankie can you take me to school tomorrow?"Claire yawned.  
"I cant sorry. I start work early in the morning. Another day though,"Frank said sadly.  
"Okay. Goodnight Frank,"Claire leaned up and kissed his cheek before falling back down and rolling onto her side, her back to Frank.  
"Goodnight Claire,"Frank sighed. He got up and came to stand next to me,"Sweet dreams."

Once we were back in his bedroom I could tell he was too tired to do anything.  
"Gerard I know I said-"  
"I know dont worry. You start early so dont worry,"I said as we stripped down to our underwear,"What time do you finish tomorrow?"  
"Uhh two. Why?"Frank struggled to pull his coffee stained jeans off.

"Why dont you pick Claire up after school? As a surprise?"I flicked the light off and tumbled into the bed gratefully.  
"There. Thats why I love you,"Frank said seriously as he slid in next to me, putting his head on my chest.  
"You love me cause I know how to fix your relationship with your little sister?"I murmered, sleep already taking over me.

"Dick..."Frank yawned again.  
"Now who's running out of insults?"I whispered.  
"Goodnight Gerard,"Frank snorted,"Love you."  
"Goodnight pumpkin. I love you to,"And then I fell asleep straight away.

-time lapse-

I awoke to a horrible shrill beeping sound. Of course it was Frank's alarm at- half five in the fucking morning?!  
"Frank what the fuck are you doing up at this time?"I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, burying my head under the pillow.  
"I've gotta bake,"Frank whispered. I peeked out at him and sighed. My stomach rumbled and informed me that it wouldnt let me go back to sleep until I ate.

"Fuuuck,"I thumped the bed with my fist and groaned loudly.  
"Gerard just go back to sleep,"Frank muttered as he pulled his uniform on.  
"Cant,"I mumbled.  
"Why?"Frank sighed, sounding tired and fed up.  
"Hungry."

Frank laughed quietly and climbed on top of me, straddling my back and gripping my shoulders.  
"Do you want me to make you something?"Frank whispered and trailed his hands down my bare back then up again.  
"No you have to- work- fucking stop will you? Or neither of us will be making food,"I giggled as Frank kissed the back of my neck.  
"Come on then sleepy bum,"Frank patted my shoulder before climbing off.

I clenched my eyes shut for a second befpre sighing and getting out of bed. I grabbed at some clothing that looked like mine in the dark and came up with my Green Day hoodie and a random pair of track pants that I had never ever seen before let alone seen Frank wear before.

"Dude I've been looking for this,"I whispred as I pulled my hoodie on.  
"What? Oh yeah. Sorry. Its losing your smell anyway,"Frank muttered and left the room. I struggled into the track pants and followed him as we crept down the hall and down the stairs.

Frank flicked on the kitchen light and sighed,"I need blueberry muffins. They sell like wildfire every time its my week to fucking bake them."

"Do you want me to help?"I said as I pulled the fridge open and stared.  
"Nah its fine. Grab something to eat and go back to bed,"Frank smiled as he hip bumped me out of the way and grabbed milk and butter from the fridge. The good thing about this kitchen was that a lot of the itme the sound just stayed in. You could barely hear anything anywhere else in the house.

"M'kay,"I moved and stood behind Frank at the pantry.  
"Gerard can you do me a favour and grab the sugar? I cant reach it,"Frank sighed and went back to his station, muttering about idiots that put stuff he needs in high places. I grabbed the sugar and set it down next to him, knocking my hip into his and saying,"Here you go shorty."

"Fuck off I'm not that short,"Frank grumbled.  
"Okay Frodo. You're not short,"I grinned and went back to the pantry. I stared, not reslly looking for anything in particular when something caught my eye at the very top of the pantry. I stood on my tip toes but still couldnt reach it so I grabbed one of the barstools and dragged it over.

"What are you getting?"Frank asked as he mixed stuff in a bowl.  
"Just- some- of- these,"I grinned gleefully and showed Frank the box of Baileys chocolates.  
"Gerard those are Mum's,"Frank stopped scoopingh flour and gave me a look.  
"I'll buy her more. A whole box,"I said as I opened it,"Look these are almost gone. I'll buy her more than I'm going to eat,"I smiled and popped one into my mouth. My god they were good.

"Whatever. Gimme one,"Frank opened his mouth and waited. I put one in my mouth and moved closer to him. I kissed him openmouthed and pushed the chocolate into his mouth with my tongue.  
"Mmph-"Frank started giggling through the chocolate and into my mouth. I pulled away and grinned at him,"Good arent they?"  
"When you eat them like that they sure as hell are,"Frank smiled and went back to mixing. There was two more left and I wanted a chocolate kiss.

"Give me a chocolate kiss,"I said and stuffed a chocolate into Frank's mouth.  
"God,"Frank choked. He grabbed my face and kissed me. I opened my mouth and couldnt help but laugh over the sensation of chocolate and Frank's tongue in my mouth. It was fucking awesome.

I swallowed the chocolate and laughed,"Today I'm getting some Hershey's Kisses and we're gonna have some fun."  
"Mmm cant wait,"Frank winked at me before grabbing the muffin tray.

"Well I hope to god that fun is in your apartment, Gerard,"Linda said behind me.  
I turned around and smiled,"Dont worry it will be,"I held the box out to her,"Chocolate?"  
"Thanks,"She smiled and took it,"Dont worry about getting me more. I got those from the receptionist at work,"Linda smiled and sat on a barstool,"They're from her cheating ex."

"Mum I'm gonna pick Claire up after school today but as a surprise so dont tell her,"Frank said as he spooned muffin mixture into the muffin tray.  
"Alright Frankie. Dont be late though and dont forget. Do you need a lif tto work?"Linda yawned.  
"No, you're too tired. What are you doing up anyway?"Frank said as he put the uncooked muffins into the oven.

"I couldnt sleep. Heard you two giggling like girls about something so I came down,"Linda smiled. I stared at her intently. That had seemed like a lie. Her face looked weird as she watched Frank start cleaning up. She looked at me and fuck she caught me staring. I looked away for something to do.

"Gerard are you gonna go back to bed?"Frank turned around and leaned on the bench, dusting flour off of himself.  
"I dunno... I'm tired enough to... What if you give me a lift home before work and then you cna take your car to work?"I tried to ignore Linda's stare boring into my head.  
"Sounds good. These will take a little while so I'm gonna grab a shower,"Frank smiled and left the kitchen.

There was an awkward silence that lasted about thirty seconds before Linda suddenly said,"What do you know?"  
"Excuse me? About what?"I rounded on her, a million thoughts and questions bursting into my head.  
"I- nevermind. I'm just tired. Forget I said anything,"She waved her hand and got up from her seat,"Have a good day."  
"Wait,"I called but she was already going back upstairs,"What the fuck is up with everyone these days?"


	6. I Want You. Badly.

"I'll call you tonight okay?"Frank said from the window.  
I nodded and leant down to kiss him,"Bye Frankie."  
"Love you,"He smiled before driving away. I watched him go for a second before pulling out my phone and calling him. He pulled over up ahead and answered.

"You drove away before I got to say it. Love you too Pumpkin,"I grinned. I watched as Frank got out and looked at me.  
"You're such a dork. Go to bed its not even seven."  
"Kay. Have a good day,"I waved and turned around to go inside. Frank hung up as I went inside and pressed the button for the lift. It dinged open and I stepped in slowly. jabbing the button for floor 8. Jesus I was tired.

Once I was inside I went into my bedroom and took off these horrible track pants.  
"Oh for fucks sake,"I sighed. The bloody sheets were still in the corner and the mattress was still bare with a small patch at the edge. I sighed and went into the spare bedroom. The bed was unmade from when Claire was here for like two hours. I yawned and climbed into bed slowly. Of course, it was then that the phone started ringing out int he kitchen.

"Fuck! Just leave me alooooone,"I whined to the ceiling. Another minute passed and the phone stopped ringing. I thanked the god of letting people sleep and rolled over, pulling the pillow over my head.

"Who the fuck?"I groaned as my mobile started ringing. I blindly grabbed for a second pillow to try and block it out but it didnt work,"Shit thats Mikey's ringtone,"I bolted up and out of bed. As soon as I opened up my phone it stopped ringing. I called Mikey back and he answered straight away.

"Hey buddy. Whatsup?"He said happily.  
"You just called me?"Why waas everyoone being so weird lately? I sat down on the couch with a feeling of defeat. I wasnt gonna get to sleep again.

"I'm able to talk now. So whats up?"  
"I uh. Not much. I was just trying to sleep. What about you?"  
"Dick. What about that hallucination? What waas that about?"Mikey sighed.  
"I dont fucking know. I think it was just because I hadnt eaten for over 24 hours,"I grumbled. Fuck I was hungry again. I had to stop forgetting to eat, jesus.

"Right... Have you had anymore?"Mikey sounded sceptical. He would be looking at me with worry but also like I was an idiot if he was here right now. I was suddenly overcome with a need to see my brother,"Gerard?"  
"Sorry. Uh no I havent,'I said as I went to the pantry. I opened it up and groaned,"Why is there never any food in my place?

"Maybe cause you need to go food shopping? Why dont you do that today?"Mikey started giggling,"Pete stop it- dude oh my god!"  
"Um..."I went back and sat down on the couch with a thwump.  
"Sorry Pete keeps- fucking- argh! Tickling me!"Mikey grunted. A loud smack sounded out and then I heard Pete start yowling like a cat.

"Right. Tell him I say hi. And his parents,"I sighed,"When are you guys coming over? I wanna see you all."  
"Right um well we wanna be there for Frank's birthday ummmm,,"Mikey hummed for a moment,"How about in a week we come for a week and a half?"

"A week and a half? You sure you've got it in you to come for that long?"I said seriously.  
"Yes what are you- oh. You dick. Come on, I need to call Jerry and get the time off of work,"Mikey was jiggling about I could tell.

"Who the fuck is Jerry?"  
"Oh! I completely forgot to tell you! Greg sold the shop. Now I have a much more awesome and nicer boss called Jerry. He's actually interested in comics."  
"Dude thats awesome,"I grinned. Greg was such a fat bastard. He seemed to hate everything,"Okay uh yeah in a week for a week and a half. So you'll leave the day after Frank's birthday?"I grabbed the tv remote and was about to turn it on when there was a knock at the door.

"Uh yeah thats right. Hey what does Frank want for his birthday?"Mikey started humming again.  
"I- shit. I have no idea. I havent even asked him,"I groaned as I got up and went to the door.  
"Dude you havent gotten his pres-"

"Chloe?"I stared at her in disbelief. She had a bandage around her dark brown hair but the rest was just her usual glammed up self.  
"Hey Gerard,"She said and pushed past me.  
"Uh Mikey I gotta go. I'll text you about Frank's present,"I said slowly and hung up.

"How have you been then Gee?"Chloe said from the couch.  
"Uh- sorry but Chloe I thought you were in the hospital?"I went and sat down next to her.  
She shook her head,"Mild concussion and shock. They kept me in over night and that was it. I've been at my Mum's but finally I got away so I could come see you,"She smiled brightly at me.

"Jesus. You got lucky then,"I said jokingly. It was obviously a mistake because her face dropped a mile and she said,"Got lucky? Oh yeah. So lucky that my fiance walked in on me and his best friend talking about the wedding. So lucky that he started hallucinating and thought we were fucking so he knocked me out and killed a good friend. Lucky that I woke up in hospital confused and wondering what the hell was going on only to be told that my fiance killed my friend and then himself. So lucky."

"Chloe I'm sorry. I didnt mean-"  
"No its okay. You dont have to apologise. I'm sorry for- that,"She gave me a small smile and relaxed into the couch.

"They told me you tried to help... Thank you..."  
"It didnt make a difference though did it... I couldnt save him,"I stared at the black TV screen.  
"Gerard thats not your fault. Did you know that he hadnt taken his medicine all day? And he was drunk when he got home? None of it was your fault Gerard,"She said softly.

"Why would he not take his medicine?"I sighed. Jim had been so distant and distraught.  
"I dont know..."Chloe said as she got up.  
I continued staring at the blank screen as she opened the fridge,"Theres nothing in there. I need to go get shit."  
"Damn right theres nothing in here- ugh your milk is off."  
"I'm sorry. You wanna come with me? I've gotta buy a new mattress probably,"I sighed.

"Yeah! Anything to delay going back to my Mum's. God all she does is fuss over me and the fucking funerals,"Chloe slammed the fridge shut. It was then that I realised I was only in my hoodie and my boxers so I went into my bedroom to change.

"Hey uh Gerard?"Chloe called after a minute, sounding worried.  
"Yeah?"I poked my head through a t-shirt.  
"There was a guy out the back of the building, out in the courtyard, looking up at me. And now he's gone,"Chloe came into my room looking more worried than she sounded. I shrugged my shoulders at her and hunted around for where I had thrown my hoodie.

"Ew,"I sighed and picked it up off of the pile of bloody sheets. Chloe stared at them for a moment before walking over to them, grabbing them and looking at me expectantly.  
"You ready to go?"She smiled.  
"Uh yeah I guess..."I pulled my hoodie on,"What are you doing with those?"

"I'm binning them. You dont want these. I'll buy you some new ones. You also dont want to wear that hoodie. Its boiling outside,"She said and walked out, her heels clicking loudly on the wooden floor. I pulled my hoodie off and followed her out.

"But- Chloe you dont have to do that. Its not your fault. Dont worry I'll get them cleaned-"  
"It is my fault though. Jim didnt take his pills because I didnt remind him. You know that crappy phone he has? Had?"She sighed. I nodded,"Well alarms and shit never worked on it. So he always relied on me to call him and remind him to take his pills. But I didnt because Brad and I got a little drnk. And Brad was supposed to go to a suit fitting or something but we lost track of time and- I cant believe I didnt remind him!"Chloe dropped the sheets and fell onto the couch. Oh jesus.

"Chloe, this is not your fault. You know its not,"I sighed and sat down next to her.  
"It is though! If I hadnt gotten f-fucking drunk with Brad then I wouldnt have forgotten a-and Jim would still be here!"She wailed. She just swore. She never swears. God she felt really bad. I didnt know what to say so I just put my arm around her and shushed her until she had stopped crying.

"God. I'm sorry Gerard. I never cry in front of people oh my god I cant believe I just sobbed on you,"Chloe sniffed.  
"Man, everyone feels so guilty about everything,"I muttered.  
"Yeah except for the person reponsible,"Chloe stood up. She regained her composure fucking fast.

"Who's responsible?"I stood up as well as she grabbed the sheets again.  
"I'm not sure. How many times have you ever seen or heard of me drinking?"She asked as she walked to the door.  
"Uh never?"I grabbed my wallet and followed her out.

"Exactly. Because I never drink. The doctors say that my shock has me blocking out everything but if that was the case, why would I block out the time I was with Brad? The last thing I remember is drikning coffee that Brad had brought over."  
"God... I dont know... What if Brad drugged you?"I suggested as we stepped out of the lift.

"No. Thats stupid. Brad would never do that. Whoever gave him the coffees must have,"Chloe said firmly as she pushed the sheets down the garbage shute.  
"Okay but why would someone want to drug you? And how would they know which coffee was yours or whether those coffees were even for you?"I said as we walked up the street. The sun was fucking hot and I was already sweating. Why did I choose a black t-shirt and jeans?

"I'm not sure uh I'll figure it out,"Chloe smiled,"Why are we walking?"  
"I need to get petrol. My car is literally drained,"I sighed. The gas station was so far up the road.  
"You know I've got a container of fuel in the boot of my car right?"Chloe stopped walking, pointing over her shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?"I looked back at our apartment building then back at the gas station.  
"Yeah I am,"Chloe grinned and started walking again.  
"You're a bitch. It is way too fucking hot for october,"I groaned.  
"Look, wait here and I'll go back, grab my car and make everything that little bit shorter. Sound good?"Chloe didnt even wait for my answer she just turned around and started jogging down the sidewalk. In heels. My god she was awesome.

I watched her go for a moment before looking at the store I was outside of.  
"Harry's Emporium..."I said aloud without meaning to. I peered through the window and saw that it was full of shit. So naturally I went in. A bell jingled above me as I opened and closed the door and a chinese man smiled at me from the counter. I smiled back and started to walk around the shop.

This store was weird. I had pretty much every sort of nick nack you could think of, material for curtains and shit like carpet and fucking costumes. I fought back a snort at the faces of the models for all the 'sexy' outfits. My eyes fell on a black pair of skeleton gloves and immediately I wanted them. I grabbed them and took them up to the counter.

"Two dollar fifty,"The man smiled. I gave him the cash and bolted outside to find Chloe parked at the curb looking pissed off.  
"What the hell do you want with those gloves? Its boiling,"Chloe said as she sped off towards the gas station.

"Its gonna be winter soon and they're awesome. Besides, they're for Frank for his birthday,"I said as I pulled them on. They felt really nice and soft and were slightly too small for me which meant that Frank would fit them perfectly.  
"Alrighty then go get your gas,"Chloe sighed as she parked the car.  
"I'll be quick,"I said and shut the door.

I stared at the fuel containers and grabbed the one I needed for my car and practically skipped inside. I felt good.  
"That'll be 20 bucks thanks,"The guy gave me a death glare as I pulled my wallet out and gave him cash. I went back outside to find Chloe had gone.

"What the fuck?"I stared around. She was no where to be seen. I waited for another few minutes but she was gone and she wasnt coming back. I cursed the world and all disappearing friends and started walking.

The sun was killing me. It felt like I was getting burnt through my t-shirt. A car beeped behind me and slowed to a stop next to me.  
"Frank? Shouldnt you be at work?"I smiled and leant on the roof of the car.  
"I just finished. I was gonna see if you wanted to grab something to eat before I pick Claire up. Get in,"Frank smiled.

I rushed to get in, dumping the fuel in the back before leaning over and kissing Frank.  
"Its 2 already? I cant believe the day went by that fast,"I said as the clock clicked to ten past 2.  
"Yeah I know. Crazy right? So, did you get any Hersheys Kisses?"Frank asked playfully as he pulled into the parking lot. We got out and he started walking ahead of me, reaching the lift first.

"Uh no,"I stared at him. The way his hair curled around his face and how much he smelt like coffee was turning me on.  
"Why are you looking at me like that?Frank said as we stepped into the lift. There was one other person in there who I had only ever seen around on campus.

"I'll tell you later,"I muttered and moved behind Frank to hide my painful boner. On the second floor the girl got off. As soon as the doors had shut I grabbed Frank's shoulders and spun him around for a kiss.

"Ahh,"Frank moaned as I backed him against the side of the lifted and jutted my hips into his.  
"Fuck me Frankie,"I gasped as he reversed the order of things and shoved me into the corner and palmed me.  
"Wait- are we moving?"I looked over Frank's shoulder to see we were still on floor two.

"Nope. I dont think we should do it in here anyway,"Frank nodded towards a camera above us as he pressed the number 8 button. Oh shit this building is funded or whatever by my school fuck if they have access to the security footage I could be in a lot of trouble. Crap,"I groaned and thumped my head back against the wall.

"Dont worry they probably dont know its you and anyway, all we did was kiss. If we had actually taken our clothes off, thats another story,"Frank smiled as the doors dinged open,"Now come on. I want you. Badly."

Frank grabbed my hand and dragged me down the narrow corridor and into my apartment. Frank threw his keys and phone onto the couch and turned to me. I hadnt even shut the door properly when Frank slammed me up against the wall and attacked my mouth.

"OhfuckFrank,"I moaned into his mouth. Frank smiled into the kiss as his hands snaked around my waist and started pulling me closer to him. No. I wanted to be in charge.  
"I broke off the mindblowing kiss and slowly moved my lips along his jawline and down his neck while pushing him towards what I hoped was the couch. Nope. It was the kitchen island.

"Gerard you said- fuck- you said you wanted me to- mmph- to fuck you,"Frank panted, clutching my back helplessly as I started grinding up against him while leaving a mark on his neck.  
"Change of plans,"I said against his skin. My hands crept down to the hem of his work shirt.  
"Are we- gonna do it- shit- here?"Frank said and moved his hands to my ass, squeezing and making me thrust forward particularly hard.

"Oh fuck. We cant do it in the bedroom cause there are no sheets and we are not doing it in a room where Claire sleeps so yes. Here,"I grinned at him and pulled his top off.  
"Fair enough. You're cleaning the bench though,"Frank smiled.  
"Why would I want to do that? I want the imprint of your ass to stay there forever,"I shivered as Frank's cool fingers slipped beneath my t-shirt.

"We have to be quick. I've gotta pick Claire up from school,"Frank yanked my t-shirt over my head and kissed me again. I nodded and wasted no time in tugging down his jeans along with his boxers. His dick sprung into view, hard and leacking. I licked my lips, got down on my knees and started sucking.

"Oh fuck yeah right- shit,"Frank moaned and grabbed my hair,"Gerard no- I wanna- I want you- oh jesus just- fuck me Gee please,"He whined. I grabbed the base of his dick and started jerking him off as well, ignoring his begging.

"Oh fuck- christ Gerard fuck- yeah ahh,"Frank started bucking his hips into my mouth. Thats when I pulled off and stood up. I was so painfully hard I was getting dizzy,"Gee why'd- dont stop fuck,"Frank opened his eyes and blinked at me, sweat shining all over him.  
"Because I wanna do this,"I muttered and pulled my own pants down. With the loss of restriction I didnt feel quite as dizzy. I could see clearer and hear better which meant I could hear Frank's phone start ringing.

"Dont- leave it Gerard. Get back here you fucking tease,"Frank called as I went to grab it from the couch.  
"Frank we need to talk,"Mikey said urgently the second I answered the phone.  
"Hey Mikey,"I walked into my bedroom and pulled openmy drawer to grab a condom,"Hold on I'll pass you over to Frank."  
"Gerard you suck. Whos on the phone?"Frank hadnt moved at all. He had one hand gripping the edge of the bench and the other holding the base of his cock.

"Mikey. He needs to talk to you,"I handed the phone to him before turning him around and bending him over the counter top.  
"Gerard what are you-"  
"Shut up just go with it,"I grinned as I openedd the condom and slipped it on. I sucked on my fingers and spread him apart.

"Uh hey Mikey whats uuhhp?"Frank groaned as I pushed two fingers in at once. I added a third and wriggled them around.  
"Oh shit- that- yeah- uhh,"Frank gasped. I couldnt tell if he was saying that because of me or what Mikey was saying. I pulled my fingers out.

"Oh fuck me thats goo- painful,"Frank moaned as I slowly thrust my dick inside of him,"I hit my shin on the coffee table,"Frank sucked in his breath as I pulled back out again. I let out a giggle as I slammed back into him.  
"Oh fuck Gerard!"Frank shouted suddenly. I fought back a moan crossed with a laugh as Frank started spluttering to Mikey to call him back.

"I dont know why you found that funny,"Frank grumbled and slid the phone across the bench.  
"Deal with it. Did I get you in the right spot?"I said and thrust into him again, my nails digging into his hips. He was so fucking tight.

"Oh god yeah- Gee just- fuck. Please,"He pleaded. I picked up my pace and immediately regretted not doing it earlier.  
"Mmph oh god,"I moaned as Frank started pushing back into me with every thrust.  
"Gerard I'm gonna- shit,"Frank stutered out. I reached around and started jerking him off, pulling out louder and louder moans as the warm sensation burst forth in the pit of my stomach as well.

"Jesus fucking christ I love you!"Frank shouted out as he came all over my hand and the side of the bench, his muscles clenching around my dick.  
"I fucking- love you- too oh my god,"I gasped as I rode out our orgasms.

I stayed slumped over Frank on the bench for a few minutes, both of us trying to catch our breath back.  
'What did Mikey want? It sounded urgent,"I finally puffed out.  
"Oh nothing. Just that I better get time off work for when they come up here,"Frank muttered.

I unstuck myself and shook my jeans off all together,"Whats the time? Do you need to get Claire yet?"  
"Uhh- I've got time for a shower. Wanna join me?"Frank asked, already walking to the bathroom.  
"Sure. Then I'm actually going to go for a food shop,"I followed him in.

"Now that you have fuel you can drive over for dinner tonight. Right?"Frank said as he turned the shower on and got in straight away.  
"Arent you gonna wait for the water to heat up?"I watched as he soaked himself in half warm water,"And sure. I'll call you."

"Nah its too hot. Get in,"Frank grabbed me and dragged me in. I let hooked my arms over Frank's shoulders and he wrapped his hands around my waist, humming a sotf tune as we slowly turned around and around, dancing to this sweet melody that Frank was humming.

"We should get out,"Frank mumbled after a while. The whole bathroom was filled with steam, I could barely see as we stumbled out of the shower. I grabbed the one towel and wrapped it around Frank before going out and grabbing another one, Frank following close behind.

"Are any of my clothes here? I dont wanna put my work uniform back on,"Frank followed me into the bedroom.  
"Uhh look around I'm not sure,"I said as I dried myself and my hair.  
"Bingo,"Frank grinned and held up my Green Day hoodie.  
"Dude I only just got that back. I was gonna wash it before I made it smell like me again,"I snatched it away from him.

He pouted at me before kicking through the rest of the clothes on the floor,"Aha. My jeans. I can wear one of your t-shirts right?"  
"If you wanna boil alive in the sun. All of them are black,"I said as I pulled my own jeans on.

"Fine by me,"Frank grinned. I smiled back and walked over to him. I took his face in my hands and kissed him lightly on the lips,"Love you Pumpkin."  
"You are such a sook... But I love you too,"Frank giggled.

A few minutes later we were both dressed and heading downstairs in the lift. Frank was on the phone to Mikey again and it was a very interesting sounding conversation.  
"... And then you have to-"Frank glanced at me for the fifty millionth time,"Get Captain Smith to give you the ammo... No I- dont like the ammo he gives you. Mikey I cant talk right now. You're gonna have to figure out how to play Cheif yourself. I'm too busy to school you,"Frank said before hanging up.

"Is he playing Halo?"  
"Yeah. Halo 4. He's never played it before and he sucks. He keeps calling me and asking for help,"Frank mumbled.  
"Wait Halo 4 is out?"I looked at him as the doors dinged open and we stepped outside.  
"Dude it was out a week ago. Where have you been?"Frank scoffed at me.

"I dont know... Okay well,"I grabbed my fuel from the back seat and was suddenly pinned against the side of Frank's car, Frank was smiling up at me, his hands on my waist.  
"You know I love you right?"He looked down.  
"Frankie we just came together moaning that we love each other... Of course I fucking do,'I smiled but he was still looking down.  
"And you know that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you right?"He looked up at me with one of the most intense looks in his eye. He was freaking out about something inside and I had absolutely no clue what that was.

"Frank I do know that whats going on? Has something happened?"I grabbed his shoulders and brought him closer to me, trying to figure out waht was wrong from a closer look in in his eyes. Frank shoved me back playfully and grinned,"Nothing I was just fooling around."  
"You're a dick,"I glared at him. That was a relief,"Anyone ever said you should be an actor?"  
"Its been said once or twice. Now come on, I'm gonna be late for Claire and if that happens then Mum is going to skin me alive,"Frank kissed me before getting in the front seat.

"I'll call you tonight about dinner okay? Love you,"He smiled before backing the car out of its spot and driving away. I watched him go before turning around and going down the ramo into the underground car park. I fucking hated food shopping.


	7. For The Best

Franks POV

"Mikey for fucks sake I thought you had this under control!"I shouted as I slowed to a stop outside of Claires school.  
"I did okay but fucking dickwads keep catching on to whats going on and trying to fucking kill me okay so I'm sorry if I'm a little stressed out at the moment,"Mikey yelled right back.

"Okay. I'm sorry. How many caught on?"I sighed. I couldnt see Claire anywhere.  
"ABout 5?"Mikey muttered.  
"5 okay thats not as bad as I thought... What about authorities? Do they know anything?"I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

"Cole's got friends in the police force so we're not sure whats happening,"Mikey said quietly.  
"Sort this out Mikey. You guys cant all come over here for two weeks if this isnt sorted. You cant leave your post otherwise people will die. You hear me? I've gotta go Claire's here. Call me tomorrow,"I sighed.  
"Alright. Sorry Frank. I'll sort it I promise,"Mikey sighed and hung up.

I put my phone down and got out of the car. Claire still hadnt seen me yet. She was looking for Mum.  
"Oi kiddo!"I shouted. Claires eyes darted to me and her whole face just lit up. I couldnt help but grin and kneel down as she started racing towards me.

"Frankie! Ahh!"She squealed in delight as she bowled me over. Literally. My back was already aching from where it hit the ground.  
"How ya doing Claire?"I girnned as she kissed my all over my face.  
"Good! I thought you had to work?"Claire said as she got up.

"I did. In the morning. But that left my afternoon free,"I smiled and helped her into the car.  
"Yay! Are you coming home for dinner tonight?"Claire wriggled around in her seat as I took started driving and took a left towards the park.  
"Yup. Gerard might be coming over for dinner as well,"I smiled and pulled up outside the playground.

The gorgeous day was slowly fading as clouds started rolling in in the distance, threatening to rain all over us. Claire clapped her hands in delight and undid her seatbelt. Before I could even stop her she was out and climbing up the ladder to go down the slide,"Come down with me Frankie!"  
"Aright give me a second to get there,"I smiled as I struggled to climb up the small ladder meant for little people.

"You ready?"I grinned as she sat down on my lap. She nodded and down we went. It was the shortest slide in existance but it made Claire smile so I put up with it. There was a much better playground in Jersey.  
'Frankie will you push me on the swings?"Claire said, already dragging me towards them.  
"Of course,"I picked her up and sat her down, making sure she was in there properly. A few months ago she had fallen out and lost her tooth. Thankfully it was already loose.

I grinned as she started yelling for me to push her higher and higher. God she was nutty. I continued pushing her for a few moments, keeping an eye out for that familiar figure I had been seeing in the distance fucking everywhere lately. I couldnt figure out who the hell it was all I knew was that the person looked familiar but I could never ever get close enough to actually find out who they were.

"For fucks sake,"I sighed as I spotted him right across the feild next to the playground. He watched for a few more moments before turning around and fleeing into the bush. Right.  
"Can we get ice cream?"Claire pulled me out of my thoughts.  
"Sure. But dont tell Mummy cause I think she is cooking a big dinner tonight,"I said as I stopped her swing and pulled her out.

"I promise I wont tell,"Claire giggled. We strolled back to the car and got in. The ice cream parlour was literally around the corner from here and then 2 minutes from there was home. Sometimes I loved being in a small little suburb that had everything you needed.

"I'm gonna have goody goody gumdrops,"Claire smiled as we drove along.  
"Oooh yummy. I'm gonna have double chocolate chip,"I grinned. Wow, I actually really wanted some ice cream. It would help ease the stress of Mikey's news.

I parked the car and helped Claire out and ushered her inside the busy ice cream shop. Cute 80's music was playing in the background over the soound of laughing kids and talking parents.  
"Arya!"Claire screeched and ran to another little girl looking bored next to her Mum who was talking to another younger Mum.

They both looked down as Arya screamed and grabbed Claire in a dancing hug. Cute.  
"Claire please try and be a bit more quiet,"I sighed. The noises were giving me a major headache. Maybe I wasnt gonna have ice cream.

"Sorry Frankie,"Claire smiled,"Arya Frank picked me up from school and we went to the playground and now we're getting ice cream!"  
"I wanna go to the park! Mummy can we go to the park after our ice cream?"Arya turned and tugged on her Mums bag.  
"No Arya we have to get home straight away,"She said firmly, sending a glare in my direction as if it was my fault her chld whined like a little brat.

"So anyway, Jackson pulled out the card and gave it to me. Do you know what was inside? The deed to a bach in the Carribean, I mean can you imagine me in the Carribean? Ridiculous!"The woman chortled as her friend agreed, laughing like a dumb bitch. Fuck I hated people like that.

"Come on Claire, lets get your ice cream,"I sighed and pulled her up to the line. Ten minutes later Claire had said goodbye to Arya and we were almost home.  
"Frankie,"Claire said as she gleefully licked her ice cream.  
"Mmm?"  
"Can I sleep in your room tonight? Pleeeeeeeeease?"She turned to me and did the puppy dog eyes. Damn, she did them better than me.

"I dunno... Dont you have school tomorrow?"I said sadly, pretending that I was gonna say no.  
"No! Its saturday! Oh please Frankie please we havent had a sleepover in millions of years!"  
"Millions?! Really? Well we have to put a stop to that then dont we!"I grinned at her as I pulled into the driveway.

"Yaaaay thank you Frankie! Can we watch a movie? And eat lots of chocolate? And tell scary stories?"Claire babbled as we got out.  
"Yes yes and no. Last time I told you a scary story you didnt sleep for the next three nights and Mum wouldnt let me back in the house until you did,"I picked her up under her arms and sat her on my shoulders.

"Oh please! I promise I wont get scared! I'm a big girl now,"Claire gripped my hair, pushing it in front of my eyes.  
"Claire sweetie I cant see. Move the hair from my eyes,"I stopped walking. She moved the hair and I came face to door. If I had kept walking I would have walked into it.

"We'll see about the scary story okay?"I sighed knowing fully well that I was not telling her a scary story. We walked in and found Mum in the kitchen baking.  
"Watcha baking?"I said as I leaned against the wall to ease the weight of Claire.

"Just some chocolate biscuits,"Mum smiled,"How was your day Claire?"  
"It was fantastic! Frankie picked me up Mummy! And then we went to the park! And then we got ice cream! And we're having a sleepover tonight!"Claire exclaimed above me.

"Oooh no scary stories I hope,"Mum gave me a look.  
"Sorry Claire. Mum said no,"I sighed and put her down on the floor,"Go give Mummy a kiss."  
"Please Mummy I promise I wont be scared anymore,"Claire said as Mum picked her up and gave her a kiss.

"Nope. I'm not risking it. Frank if I find out that you told her a scary story you'll be staying with Gerard for a week."  
"Dont worry I wont,"I smiled,"I've gotta go make a call, I'll be back down soon."  
"Alright. If you've got any news I want to hear it later,"Mum muttered. As I walked upstairs I heard Claire start giggling and Mum start bitching about her taking chocolate chips.

I closed the door to my room and locked it before pulling my phone out and dialling Mikey.  
"Wassup?"He said as I pulled my t-shirt off and collapsed onto my bed.  
"Are you any closer to finding them? That was what I wanted to know earlier I just forgot,"I sighed and stared at my roof.  
"Fuck no. They're slippery little bastards. Pete thought they might be underground like us but I've sent out searches and no one's found anything,"Mikey said through a mouthful of food.

"Alright well, be careful when you call me because there are times when Gerard answers the phone for me. Its getting more and more difficult to lie to him. I almost snapped and told him everything today. I hate this lying,"I rolled onto my stomach and stared at the photo of Gerard and I at Disneyland. He had the exact same one on his bedside table.

"I know I know dont worry you dont have to for much longer. I would just prefer to keep him in the dark about this because I dont want him leaving his course to come help fight a war. He deserves this course and I'd like him to finish it,"Mikey sounded just as upset. I knew he was right but it didnt make it any easier.

"I've gotta go Frank. Ray just got back with some reports. I'll text you?"Mikey said. I could hear Ray in the background.  
"Yup okay, give everyone my luck and love. Bye,"I sighed and hung up.

I continued staring at the picture before groaning and lying it face down.  
"Fuck!"I shouted and punched the pillow next to me. I jumped at a knock on the door,"Who is it?"  
"Its- Lily,"She said timidly.  
"Go away. I'm not in the mood right now,"I sniffled. Great now I was fucking crying.

"Frank please let me in. Its urgent. Mum told me,"She said quietly. What?  
"Told you what?"I feigned ignorance.  
"About- whats going on in Jersey."

"For fucks sake,"I groaned and pushed myself up from my bed. I unlocked it and peekd out through a crack,"How much do you know?"  
"I know that you're pretty much the leader. And that its dangerous and that i want in,"She said firmly.

"Lily if you think I'm going to let you risk your life over this then you're wrong,"I opened the door wider and stared at her.  
"Frank let me in so we can talk about this in private,"Lily pushed past me and sat down on my bed. I was still fucking mad at her for everything even though it felt like forever ago.

"Why did Mum tell you?"I said coldly and leant against the door.  
"I knew something was going on. We were talking about you and I asked why you had been so shitty lately and she just told me..."Lily said quietly. God dammit Mum.

I opened the door and yelled,"Mum! Will you please get up here! Now!"I slammed the door and turned on Lily,"I dont want you having anything to do with any of this ever again alright? You have to forget everything Mum told you and- you havent told anyone have you?"  
"Of course I fucking havent. How do you think that would sound to someone. Oh my brother is the leader of a-"

"What is it Frank? I'm in the middle of baking?"Mum interrupted Lily.  
"Why the fuck would you tell Lily? Do you have any idea how much danger you've put her in?"I rounded on her.  
"Frank calm down. She had suspicions and I think she deserves to know dont you? She's mature enough to know what to do with information like that Frank. She's didnt freak out that much. Give her some credit,"Mum rolled her eyes at me.

"Give her some credit? Mum it was like two nights ago that she snuck a boy that you hardly know inside. Two nights ago that she implied that it was my fault she got fucking raped and kidnapped. Dont tell me to give her credit when she is doing shitty things and saying shitty things like that. Just dont. Both of you. Out. Now. I need to call Gerard,"I sighed and opened the door wide, clenching my eyes shut and pinching the bridge of my nose as I waited for them to leave.

"Frank..."Lily put her hand on my shoulder but I shrugged her off,"Frank please..."  
"Get out!"I opened my eyes and glared at her, tears threatening to fall down my cheeks. Lily watched me for a second longer before turning around and walking into her room. I shut the door and fell onto my bed, fumbling for my phone.

"Gerard? Can you come pick me up? Now?"I sniffed before he could get a word in.  
"Yeah yeah I'm on my way now dont move,"Gerard hung up straight away. How had an alright day gone so shitty? I sighed and dumped my phone next to me, flinging my arm across my eyes and waiting.


	8. I Couldn't Take This Anymore

"Frankie..."Someone whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes and became aware of a heavy warmth along my back.  
"Ugh what?"I croaked and closed my eyes again.  
"Frank Linda said dinner is ready... Claire really wants you to come down,"Gerard said quietly.

"Gerard..."I sighed and turned around so I could hug him awkwardly.  
"Hey Pumpkin... You doing okay?"He stroked my hair and held me tightly.

"No... I-"I considered telling him but remembered what Mikey had said. Gerard deserved to finish his course before he got pulled back to Jersey,"I tried talking to Lily today but I couldnt and its just- sort of- yeah,"I muttered and let the tears fall. Gerard shushed me and held me even closer to him.

There was a soft knock on the door. Claire.  
"Come in sweetie,"I choked out.  
"Frank are you coming down to- are you okay Frankie?"Claire walked in and climbed on the bed, resting her head on the back of shoulder.  
"I'm okay kiddo. You wanna go get dinner?"I sniffed and wiped away the tears.

"You dont have to if you're upset Frankie. Its okay. I understand,"Claire said softly. Go she was such a good little girl.  
"No. I promised you I would have dinner with you guys tonight so lets go,"I smiled and dragged myself off the bed, Claire and Gerard following close behind me like we were playing follow the leader. I stopped walking at that thought. I was a leader. People were risking their lives for this.

"Frank?"Gerard stepped in front of me, waving his hands in front of my face.  
"Uh sorry. Just had a thought about- something, Dont worry,"I smiled and pushed past him and down the stairs before he could ask anything else.

"Whats for dinner Mum?"I said as I walked into the dining room, purposely ignoring Lily's look of guilt. She deserved to feel guilty.  
"Quiche. There's a spinach and feta one for you but we've got a bacon and egg one,"Mum smiled and put a plate down in front of me.  
"Thanks Mum,"I muttered and started eating before Gerard had even sat down.

Lily cleared her throat and said,"Mum. Are you seriously going to let him sit there with us and act as if everything is normal?"  
My head snapped up to her face. What the fuck was she about to say?  
"Lily... Its his choice okay?"Linda gave her a serious warning look.  
"He's treating me like shit though! Okay yeah, I said a few bad things but that doesnt mean he should ignore me,"Lily looked at me.

I stared at her for a moment before putting my fork down and placing my hands on the table,"Lily. You called me a fag and told me to get fucked. Then you blamed me for you being raped. You're my best friend. Neither of those things are something I would expect you to say to me. Ever. The fact that you did really hurt me. I need time to deal with things okay? You dont know anything,"I sighed and sat back in my seat.

"There you go again. You wont even let me apologise,"Lily grumbled.  
"Leave it now. I dont want anymore conflict at the dinner table alright?"Mum said as I opened my mouth to bitch at Lily.  
"Fine... Sorry Mum,"I mumbled and started eating again. I glanced at Gerard and found him glouring at his quiche. I kicked him gently under the table and got him to look at me.

I smiled and mouthed 'I love you' and made him smile widely and mouth it back. It was ten minutes before I could leave the heavy silence of the dinner table, dragging Gerard upstairs with me.

"You know you should just let Lily apologise. That way she'll at leasrt stop trying to while you mull it over,"Gerard said slowly as he started scanning my DVDs.  
"I know but I just dont want to hear it right now. I'm a lot more pissed off than I thought,"I sighed,"Pick one appropriate for Claire. She's sleeping in here tonight."

"Aww what?"Gerard whined and sat next to me on the bed,"I wanted to spend time with you. I was hoping you would come to mine and have dessert with me,"He waggled his eyebrows and slowly trailed his fingers down my back.  
I closed my eyes and fought it,"I promised Claire we would watch a movie and eat chocolate I cant break another promise to her."

"I guess,"Gerard moved closer and kissed the back of my neck,"I'll have to have you now before she comes up."  
"Gerard..."I breathed not sure if it was an attempt to get him to stop or a moan.  
"Frank I just wanna make out,"Gerard whispered as he moved round to kiss my lips, his words slithering along my skin and giving me goosebumps.

"Ten minutes,"I said firmly before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him down with me, kissing him and gaining dominance over the kiss. Gerard's hands started roaming everywhere, leaving goosebumps where ever he touched. I hooked one hand around his neck and placed the other in the small of his back.

I broke off the kiss and smiled up at him,"I love you, Gerard."  
Gerard just stared at me really intensely and said,"I love you too pumpkin."  
"I-"I couldnt take this anymore. I had to tell him everything,"I've been-"  
"Fraaaankiiiiiiiie!"Claire interrupted me suddenly. My face jerked to the door where she was peeking through a crack.

"What is it Claire?"Gerard said not so kindly. I gave him a look and rolled us over so I was on top then climbed off of him and opened the door for Claire.  
"When are we gonna watch the movie?"She twirled her hair and pulled the cutest face ever.  
"Well what do you want to watch?"I forced a smile. The consequences of what I almost did were just hitting me and now I was freaking out. I needed to talk to Mikey. He was the only one I could really vent to about this.

"Can we watch Despicable Me? Pleeeeeeeeeease!"She took a step closer and pulled on my t-shirt.  
"Fiiiiiiine,"I grinned,"Gerard will you put it in the DVD player?"  
"Yeah yeah fine,"He grumbled,"I'm not staying to watch it though. I need to get home. Got some stuff to sort out."

"Oh okay,"I said quietly as Claire ran to get her pjs and Gerard turned the TV and DVD player on.  
"Sorry. But you're gonna have your hands full anyway. You dont want me getting in the way,"He muttered as he stood up, his knees clicking as he did so.  
"You wouldnt be getting in the way,"I moved over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.  
"I know I wouldnt but this is your night with Claire I dont wanna intrude,"Gerard smiled and kissed my nose.

"If you're sure,"I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him hard.  
Gerard put his forehead to mine and said,"Well if there is gonna be more of that then I might consider staying."  
"Ha ha. You almost ready Claire? Cause the movie is!"I called. She still hadnt come back in.

"I'm gonna get going. What are you working tomorrow?"Gerard sighed and started pushing me towards the door.  
"I'm working... 9 til 5. Fuck,"I sighed. I needed to make more fucking muffins. The sooner this week was over the better.  
"Okay well after work, come to mine. I wanna cook dinner for you,"He smiled and kissed me quickly as Claire rushed past us before turning around and going downstairs.

"Love you Gerard,"I waved at him.  
"Love you too Pumpkin,"He smiled at me over the banister and then he was out of sight.  
"Right kiddo. You got the chocolate?"I turned and saw Claire already in my bed, a piece of chocolate in her mouth and the movie playing.

"God Claire. Thanks for waiting for me,"I smiled as I pulled my jeans off and climbed into bed with her.  
"You were taking too long. You had your funny eyes on so I knew you would be a while,"Claire said as the trailers finished and the actual movie started. Fuck I loved Dispicable Me.

"Wait, what are my funny eyes?"I asked and snuggled down into the bed.  
"Your funny eyes. You only ever have them when you look at Gerard. You always look really happy and all lovey dovey,"Claire giggled.  
I smiled,"Right well thank you for telling me. Now gimme that chocolate,"I snatched it from her. Tonight was going to be fun.


	9. What Do I Do Now?

Gerards POV

Frank had been going to tell me something. And it had seemed important. I had just gotten home and was lying in bed trying to get to sleep but I couldnt because Frank was worrying me. He had seemed so distant. I did not buy that 'trying to talk to Lily' crap. And what was up with him randomly stopping the hallway? I needed to call him. Now.

"Fuck,"I muttered. My phone was in the kitchen. I groaned and threw the blanket off to get out. I had finally bought new sheets and had flipped the mattress to put them on as well so I felt better about being in bed. It had been so long since I had actually slept in this bed.

I jerked my head up from my stumbling in the dark as my home phone started ringing. Who the fuck would that be? It was almost ten o'clock. I switched the main light on and went to answer the phone.

"Hello?"I grumbled.  
"How's your course going? Good? Oh no I forgot. You finished this year didnt you. Its funny, you'd think they wouldnt let you stay in one of their apartments while you're not actually going to the course aye."  
"Excuse me? Who is this?"

It was pretty amazing how fast I could be filled with that suffocating fear. I couldnt place the voice but I knew it was a bad thing that they had called me. I darted over to the window looking down on the courtyard. Everything was still. There wasnt even a breeze disturbing the few trees.

"You dont recognise me? Ugh I'm heartbroken Gerard,"The guy said as a figure stepped out of the shadows of the fence, looking up here.  
I swallowed and took a deep breath,"Cole."  
"Well done. Now, thats not actually me down in the courtyard. Thats one of my buddies. He's been keeping an eye on you."

I cleared my throat and yanked the curtains across.  
"What the fuck do you want? How do you know we're in California?"I blurted out as I quickly turned the light off and fell onto the couch.  
"You think I'm telling you? You'd probably tell Frank and then he'll find our base. Geez, how stupid do you think I am?"

That didnt make sense. At all,"What? Your base? What do you mean?"  
"You dont know? Oh my god this is going to be so much fun! I cant believe Frank hasnt told you anything,"Cole started laughing like the insane person he was.  
"Dont know what?! Cole fucking tell me!"I shouted as I got up and moved to the window.

Very slowly I pulled the curtain open a crack and peeked out. Fuck, the figure was still there.  
"Nope. You cant even ask Frank cause if you do I'll kill Mikey. Its quite funny watching him try and lead Frank's cause. He's not nearly as good as Frank is,"Cole said smugly,"If Frank was here he would sniff us out like a dog sniffing out its own scent."

"You stay the fuck away from Mikey,"I dropped the curtain and went back to the couch.  
"Dont tell me what to do. I have spies everywhere Gerard. Do you know how easy it is to hack into a shitty apartment building's security? Pretty damn easy. So tell me, and spare the details, did you and Frank enjoy your little romp after the elevator?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my hand to stop from screaming at him.  
"What about the problems at Frank's home. He and Lily all right? No domestic problems over a guy? Hmmmm?"Cole drawled. I was shutting down. I could literally feel each and every part of me just shutting down. Maybe this was a hallucination.

I opened my eyes and blinked multiple times but nothing happened.  
"What do you want Cole?"I said quietly, completely defeated.  
"I want fucking revenge you bastard. Ever since you and Frank left my mates have been attacked. By disgusting fags like you. If you guys wanted a fucking war, then its a war you're gonna get,"Cole spat, suddenly full of rage.

"What the fuck are you on about?! We never started any fucking war!"  
"Oh sorry I forgot you're in the dark about all this. Alright Gerard listen here, you tell anyone and I mean, anyone at all, I will kill Mikey. And then I'll kill Pete. And Ray. And then I'll find Bob and I'll fucking kill him. Then I will come over there and I will kill Claire. And Linda and then, when you least expect it, I'll kill Frank right in front of you. Right before I kill you. You feeling me?"

"You c-cant kill Mikey or anyone,"I stuttered.  
"Yeah? Frank works at Starbucks. Claire goes to San Diego Elementary. Room 14. You live in apartment 815. Mikey still works at the comic book store. He got a new boss not long ago. Jerry. Jerry's a good friend of mine. Pete isnt really doing anything except helping out that Ryan Ross kid and Brendon Urie. I know a shit load more than you think Gerard. Mikey? He trusts his new boss. Really likes him. Big mistake there. Pete, Ryan and Brendon spend most of their days at the bean place trying out different music when they're not with Mikey trying to find us. Or more, me. That Spencer guy and his friend? They've left Jersey. Gone to New York for some reason. But they're not important. Whats important is that you understand what I mean when I say, I will kill everyone if you breathe a word of this phone call,"Cole growled and hung up. I dropped the phone, wrapped my arms around my torso and started sobbing.

My body was shaking with how freaked out and worried I was. I thought about calling Frank and asking him what Cole meant but I couldnt. I didnt know who to call. My sobs slowly subsided into little sniffles and shaky breaths. I took one deep breath and stood up and went back to bed, falling asleep staring at the picture of Frank and I at Disneyland.

-time lapse-

"What the fuck?"I groaned and opened my eyes. They felt swollen and sore. I had the worst headache and the thumping on my door was not helping.  
"Gerard! Are you in there?! Open up!"It was Chloe. I could have pretended I wasnt home but the thumping wasnt stopping and her disappearing on me held too many answers.

I sighed and dragged myself out of bed and out into the lounge.  
"Ha, I knew you were here. Have you been sleeping?"Chloe raised her eyebrows at me and punched me.  
"Shit what the fuck was that for?"I stumbled backwards and let her in,"Why are you wearing all bla- fuck."

"Yeah. You fucking missed both of the funerals. You bastard,"Chloe glared at me.  
"Chloe I'm so fucking sorry. I completely forgot I've got- a lot on my mind right now,"I fought the urge to cry again as the call from last night flooded into my mind.

"So much that you cant even remember Jim's funeral? What the fuck Gerard?!"Chloe put her hands on her hips and glared at me.  
"Chloe I dont know what you want me to say. Frank and I had an argument last night. A- a bad one and I just- havent slept and I'm- I'm so sorry!"I wailed and fell down onto the couch. The phone was still lying there from last night and it made me sob even louder.

"Oh Gerard,"Chloe's face broke into sympathy. She sat down next to me and gathered me up, rubbing my back and shushing me.  
"What did you guys fight about?"She asked quietly, a weird tone to her voice.

"Uh-"Shit. Come on Gerard, improvise,"He- He's been getting a lot of phone calls lately and- then two nights in a row he wouldnt tell me where he was and I accused him of cheating and he said that our relationship is never going to work if I cant trust him,"I blurted out in a rush. Not bad. Although if Chloe confronts Frank he is gonna freak out and she will find out adn then everything will come out in the open and Cole will kill everyone.

"Oh baby. Its gonna be okay. You just need to talk it out. Because you do trust him right?"  
"Of course I do its just the fact that he doesnt trust me enough to tell me where he was and who the phone calls are about,"I sighed. Okay that was real. The fact that Frank was keeping some sort of conspiracy for me was a little worrying.

"Well you need to tell him exactly that. Frank's a- a really sweet guy I'm sure he'll understand once he hears how you're feeling,"Chloe smiled.  
"Yeah... You're right. Thanks,"I smiled back.

"So uh what- what time was this?"She asked, semi casually.  
"Oh about after dinner time? 7 o'clock or something. The only reason I left was because he had promised Claire she could sleep in his room for the first time in months so I didnt want to ruin that for her,"I muttered.

"Right right... Okay well I'm sorry for yelling at you before,"She stood up.  
I stood up as well and picked the phone up,"No no its fine you had every right to. I'm sorry for missing the funeral. Was he buried or cremated?"I asked as I put the phone back in its holder.

"Buried. You should go visit him. Say goodbye,"Chloe said quietly. I nodded and leaned against the bench.

"Well I've gotta get going. I need to pack my shit from next door and go back to Mum's. I'll see you around Gerard,"She smiled and walked out before I could ask where she disappeared to. I stood still for a second before grabbing my cell and calling Mikey.

"Hey Gee, whats up?"Mikey said happily. He was okay. He didnt sound- stressed. Like he was trying to lead a fight or fucking whatever. Maybe Cole was just trying to scare me and worry me. Just the idea that Mikey could lead an- army or whatever was ridiculous.

"Gerard? You there?"  
"Right right sorry I was just um- thinking... Whats up? Anything interesting going on over there?"I said casually.  
"Oh no not much umm... Pete is determined to find a band for himself though. He said he found a guy called Andy who might be convinced but otherwise he just cant find anyone. Its actually quite funny, watching him whine to people at The Magic Bean. Everyone there that can play is already in a band,"Mikey chuckled.

Okay, Mikey definitely wasnt the face of a war cause or- fucking whatever,"Aww man that sucks.Tell him to come out here, I havent found a place like the bean yet but there are bound to be people wanting a band I mean come on, this is California."  
"Well he's just gonna have to wait a week before he can scare people. Whats up with you? Anything nutty over there? How are you doing?"Mikey huffed.

"Oh no not really. Uhh..."I'm scared to death because Cole is watching me and is probably listening to this phone call right now,"Just boring stuff. I'm trying to organise a halloween party for when you guys get here. Just me, Frank, you and the guys with a few of Frank and I's friends. So you can meet them all."

"Dude that sounds awesome. I'm sure the guys are totally up for that,"Mikey gushed. It was so good to hear his voice and know that he wasn't in trouble or anything.  
"Yeah... How are you guys getting here?"  
"Oh uh we havent actually sorted that yet- in fact I've got the guys coming over so we can sort it all out. I'll talk to you later okay Gee? See ya,"Mikey said quickly and hung up.

There it was again. The weird goodbye. Fast and not- normal for Mikey. I shoved my phone in my pocket and sighed. This week was going to go by at a snails pace I could tell.  
"Time to go do something productive I guess..."I sighed and went into the kitchen to start preparing to make dinner for Frank.


	10. Sure About That?

"What the fuck are we doing here?"Frank stared at the sign on the door before turning to me and looking at me like I was insane.  
"Frank... Just give it a shot. Will you? Literally,"I tried a joke.  
"I'm not fucking laughing, Gerard. This is a shooting range. Please tell me you dont have a gun. I'm begging you,"Frank pleaded.

"I dont have a gun,"Yet,"I just want to be able to protect you... And I want you to be able to protect yourself if I'm not around..."  
"Gerard... Please tell me this isnt because of Cole being let out of prison. You heard him on the phone, He said sorry. He doesnt even know we're here,"Frank sighed as I opened the door for him.

"Better to be safe than sorry,"I mumbled as I dragged Frank inside. The faint sound of gunshots filled my ears as we walked into a messy looking room. There were a few chairs thrown into a corner and a desk with a bored looking woman sat behind it.

"Do you have a booking?"She looked up at us from under her eyelashes.  
"Yes. For Way,"I said firmly.  
"You're early. When the green light above the door is on you can go through. If its red you dont go through. You got it?"She asked and blew a bubble with her gum.  
"Yes M'am,"Frank saluted her and marched to the seats. I gave her an apologetic look and followed Frank.

"So tell me again why we're doing this?"Frank sighed as he stared at the flickering red light above the door.  
"I dont feel safe anymore,"I grabbed his hand,"Frank I dont feel right about- anything."  
"Gerard are you okay? Whats happened to cause all this. You've been all jumpy about everything for like 3 days,"Frank looked at me seriously. His eyes were shining with worry.

"I just-"Got a phone call that threatened your life. No biggy,"I dunno I get a feeling like people are following me..."  
"And so thats why you made me lie to my boss about why I needed today off? And why you lied to Mum saying we were getting lunch somewhere?"Frank raised an eyebrow at me.  
"Yes! Thats exactly why,"I smiled.

"Gerard that is ridiculous. Why would anyone be following you? Or me? Or anybody?"He said urgently.  
"I dunno Frank. Why did someone drug Chloe and Brad?"  
"Excuse me?"Frank's eyebrows shot to the roof. He thought I was nuts.

"Chloe said she got her blood tests back and that they were laced with roofilin. Someone drugged her and it wasnt Brad cause he was drugged too. I'm telling you Frank, someone is watching us all,"Chloe had turned up yesterday completely freaked out because she had a brainwave to get her blood results. Apparently she and Brad had consumed enough roofilin for 2 people each.

"Oh my god... That doesnt mean we need to learn how to use a gun. This is honestly ridiculous,"Frank let go of my hand and sat back in his seat.  
"But-"The door buzzed loudly and the red light went off and the green light next to it flickered on.

"Thats us,"I grabbed Frank's hand and pulled him to his feet. He groaned loudly and stumbled along behindd me through the door and into the shooting range.  
"Way?"A short man with no top on shouted ass we walked into a huge room. Halfway through was a line of people reloading guns. Down the other end was a bunch of targets. Some bullseye some a man holding a woman.

I nodded,"Yup."  
"You're late. Over here you two,"He motioned for us to follow him. He opened another door and took us into a private room. There were two targets down the end. Halfway down the room was a table with four guns sitting down. By the door wass three seats and a coffee table. This place was alright.

"Can I get you guys a coffee? Tea?"He sat down, his back muscles rippling beneath his skin.  
"Coffee's good,"Frank and I said in unison.  
"Alrighty then. So, my names Mark. We spoke on the phone?"He said as he switched a jug on.

"Yeah uh I'm Gerard and this is Frank,"I held my hand out for him to shake which he ignored. I dropped my hand to my side and kicked Frank's leg to stop him sniggering.  
"Right so. You want to learn to protect yourself. Am I right?"Mark said as he started preparing coffee. It had been so long since I'd had instant coffee. I was already cringing at the thought of drinking that shit.

"Uh yeah I uh- dont feel safe anymore due to- p-past events and would like to be able to fight back if the time comes,"I rambled struggling to keep the phone call secret for some reason.  
"Awesome. Well before I do anything I wanna run through the laws and what not. Standard procedure. Then I'll show you how to use two different types of guns. Sound good?"Mark smiled as he handed us our coffee.  
"Sounds perfect."

-time lapse-

"Gerard this is fucking stupid,"Frank sighed as he picked the gun up.  
"Frank please just do this for me,"I sighed as I picked mine up. The last time I had held a gun was when fucking Dean made it look like I had shot him. I shivered and ignored the memory of that night as I got a better grip on the gun.

"Alright Gerard you go first. Just aim and shoot,"Mark said behind us. I nodded and stood in front of my target. It looked forever away. I raised my arms and pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. Three times. I peered and saw that my aim was pretty fucking shit.  
"Not bad. Frank, you go."

Frank glared at me as he raised his arm, preparing to shoot one handed, and took a deep breath in. He shot at the target three times and stared in horror for a second before shaking his head and putting the gun back down.  
"Well done,"Mark clapped,"A natural."

I stared at his target. All three shots were in the centre,"Frank what the fuck."  
"I dunno just- beginners luck I guess..."Frank shrugged his shoulders and went back to his coffee.  
"Its quite common for that to happen,"Mark said as he started loading what looked like a replica of the shotgun Dean had threatened us with in the hallway.

"Gerard, how can you be comfortable handling these guns? These are the exact same as the one that Dean shot himself with and used in the hallway,"Frank glared at me, leaning on the back of his chair. Oh man, he was really upset.  
"Because he used them on us. Because he framed me for shooting him. Because Cole is wa- out of prison, Frank.I'm sick of always being the one thats cornered. I'm sick of being at a disadvantage. How can you not want this too?"

Frank's face took on a look of frustration,"Because! I'm- uuargh!"He grabbed at his hair,"I just really dont think we need to. Dean is dead. Cole is- remorseful. We're safe in California. Okay?"Frank sighed and walked over to me,"Its all fine."

I stared at him, fear threatening to take over and make me spill everything to Frank. He hadnt heard Cole. He didnt hear the seriousness and coldness in his voice. Cole was fucking serious. He would kill everyone I loved if I told anyone. He wanted me cut off from everyone... Jesus, he wanted to isolate me. Its what I would do. Scare and isolate the person. Make them feel like they had no one to talk to. If Frank really was keeping a secret about some war, then Cole wouldnt want me knowing exactly what was going on because if he was hiding, I wouldnt stop looking until I found him. We weren't safe at all. Thats why I wanted today to happen. Frank didnt know that Cole knew we were here. He was in the dark just like me. But about different things. And neither of us could tell the other. We were gonna fall apart if this didnt stop.

"Sure about that are you?"I muttered.  
"What?"  
"Nothing. I'm sorry. Mark I'm sorry for all this stupid drama,"I sighed and turned to face him.  
"No nah dont worry about it. Trust me, I've seen a lot worse. Even had to call the cops once because of what I over heard the two girls talking about. Both of 'em had the same boyfriend. Wanted to off him. Bloody crazy,"Mark started shaking his head, smiling slightly.

"Jesus,"Frank muttered.  
"I know. Right, lets get you guys using these shotguns,"Mark held both of the guns in his hands and jolted his arms up, cocking them both, like in the movies.  
"Dude. That was pretty awesome,"Frank smiled slightly.  
"See? Its already getting fun. Come on, we just have to take a few shots with this and then we can go home to sleep,"I smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards Mark.  
"Maybe this will be okay,"Frank said slowly as he took the shotgun from Mark,"I've never held a shotgun before."

Okay. That was... a weird way to say it. Like he had held the other gun before, a pistol or whatever. but not a shotgun. I watched as he seemed a lot more interest in this gun than he had the other. The more and more I watched Frank, the more and more it seemed that whatever it was that Cole had implied, was true. Frank aimed at the target and got it right in the centre. Had Frank done this before?


	11. So Many Lies

"You make sure you call me okay? And you bring them all over at least once before they go so I can see them okay?"Linda said firmly as she hugged Frank.  
"Yes Mum I know. I'm not stupid. They're gonna want to see you,"Frank smiled.

"Okay Frank we've gotta go. They'll be landing soon,"I shook my keys and grinned at them.  
"Alright boys. Dont stay away for too long. I know I'll at least see you on your birthday but still,"Linda let Frank go.  
"Dont worry we'll come by tomorrow night for dinner. Sound good?"I smiled as Frank and I backed out.  
"Sounds brilliant. Bye,"She called and then we were out the door.

It's been two days since the gun lessons. I had taken even more procautions and had started using the stairs to get up to my apartment. I hadnt seen anybody watching me again but that didnt meant ehy had stopped. Frank had gotten more and more suspicious looking. I had gone back for two more sessions of target practice and wasnt all that bad with my aim. Right now, it was wednesday and we were about to leave to go pick the guys up from the airport. I was fucking ecstatic.

"I cant believe we're finally gonna see them. I mean, its been like a year since I've seen them,"Frank smiled to himself as I started the car.  
"A year? Dont you mean two? We've been here longer than a year, dork."  
"Oh right yeah, two years. My bad,"Frank muttered.

"I'm gonna need your help okay? I dont know my way to the airport and I've never driven this far north. The furtherest I've been is Disneyland,"I muttered.  
"Dont worry I have a map,"Frank held it up with a triumphant look on his face.  
"You're so cute,"I smiled.  
"Whatever. Lets get this show on the road. Okay, to leave my street, go forward."Frank said seriously. This was going to be one long drive.

-time lapse-

"Where is it? Do you see their flight number? Have they landed?"Frank stood on tiptoes to try and see over all the people standing at the international arrivals gate.  
"They've landed and they're being processed. Calm down, Frank,"I grinned.  
"Gerard you have no idea how desperate I am to fucking see them,"Frank turned around and grinned back at me.

"Well here, I cant see very well either. Hold on,"I put my phone in my pocket and turned Frank around the other way. I bent down slightly and wrapped my arms around his waist then hauled him up.  
"Jesus christ! Gerard!"Frank spluttered as I somehow managed to get him onto my shoulders,"Gerard put me down this is ridiculous!"

"You said you wanted to see though! Come on, is anyone coming through?"I took a few dangerous steps forward. Frank wasnt heavy. But he wasnt exactly light either. He was a good weight. I was just weak. And didnt have very good balance.  
"No- yeah. There are people walking through now... I see them! I see- oh my god. Gerard get me down,"Frank slapped my head excitedly.

"Fuck, Frank, stop,"He was about to fall off,"Frank stop I'm gonna drop you if you keep hitting me."  
"Sorry just- they're coming round now,"Frank said with a huff as he dropped down my back to his feet.

"Gerard! Frank!"Mikey shouted behind us. I spun around, a huge grin on my face but it fell when I got a look of Mikey's face.  
"I know I know, I got into a fight with a douchebag at the airport but hey, you should see him,"Mikey grinned. His left eye was swollen and black. And he was limping.

"Mikey what the fuck?"I rushed to him and grabbed him for a hug,"What the hell happened?"  
"I told you, I got in a hug. Careful of my leg. He kicked it real bad,"Mikey said over my shoulder. Ray, Pete and Bob were all looking around awkwardly.

"Oh who cares,"Frank said and tackled Bob in a hug,"Bobert! I missed you man."  
"Yeah you too. Have you always been this short? Or have you been shrinking?"Bob grinned down at him. I let go of Mikey and got a good look at him. His eye looked terrible.

"Gerard get over it. Hug your friends. Now,"Mikey smiled at me and grabbed Frank before he hugged Pete. I tackled Ray and grinned as I almost choked on his hair. It had been so long since that had happened. I was ecstatic, holy fricken christ.

A good five minutes later we had all stopped huggung each other and were talking about their flight.  
"Fucking turbulence man. I think one of you guys should drive us back to Jersey when we go,"Bob graoned.  
Ray nodded enthusiastically,"Gerard should do it. Frank's already been ba- gotta work so."

Frank was staring at the roof. Bob was staring hard at his phone and Mikey was glaring at a blushing Ray. I was about to call him out on it but decided to make it easier for him.  
"I'm totally up for going back to Jersey for a couple of days or something. I could see Mr Stump and meet your new boss Mikey. Would be good to see whats happened to everything over there,"I smiled, watching everyone relax at my 'stupidity'. They had no fucking idea.

"Yeah. We'll have to sort that out later though because right now we need to sort out how we're all gonna fit in one car. And how we're gonna fit all your guys' suitcases in the fucking trunk,"Frank said as we all started walking.  
"Oh fuck. I did not think of that,"I sighed. There was 6 of us. My car only fit 5 people.

"Well I dont mind sitting on Mikey's lap,"Pete said.  
"Yeah but the suitcases,"I grumbled. Why the fuck didnt we think of this before?  
"Well Mikey and I are sharing one. So thats only 3. You never know it could fit,"Pete said as we walked into the baggage pick up area.

"Lets just get the bags first. But, I think you guys might be sitting around here for 3 hours while we go back and get Frank's car,"I sighed as Bob plodded forward to haul his bag off of the conveyor belt.  
"Man, its so weird seeing Frank drive,"Mikey smiled,"Uh gonna be weird,"Mikey cleared his throat and jumped forward as his and Pete's bag came round.

Frank's hand suddenly got a hold of my own.  
"I think we're gonna need to go get my car,"Frank sighed as a man came through a door next to the conveyor belt with a huge bag on a trolley. I had seen that suitcase only once before when Mikey and I were fucking around in Ray's house and had broken into his attic.  
"Ray! What the fuck have you got in there?"I said as the guy wheeled it even closer.

Ray ignored us and met the guy halfway, they were talking like they were old friends. And then Ray was giving him- money? I couldnt tell, either way it looked fucking suspicious.  
"What the hell's going on?"I looked at Frank who shrugged his shoulders.

Ray came back over smiling to himself, dragging his bag along behind him, but then he looked up at us and his face went from 'I'm a boss' to 'whats wrong' to 'oh fuck' in about 2 seconds flat.  
"Ray what the hell?"Frank glared at him. Why was he glaring? He just had a really fat bag. And was- freaking out. Nothing suspicious about that. Right?

"Whats wrong? I brought stuff for the halloween party. Some of Mum's decorations,"Ray broke out into a smile.  
"But your Mum's decorations suck. And I've got my own..."I said and bent down to open his suitcase.  
"No dont open it!"Ray screeched and slapped my hands away.

"Jesus Ray calm down. I just wanna see which ones,"I stared up at him. I glanced around and saw everyone else looking panicked.  
"I- Frankie's present is in there and- its really big so you cant open it cause he'll see it straight away,"Ray started blushing furiously.

There was a second of silence before Frank started clapping and said,"Oooh I cant wait to see what it is!"  
We all started walking towards the exit when something made me stop. I could feel someone watching me. I turned around and looked back at the crowd of people still waiting for their bags and almost choked on fucking nothing.

The fucking dick that always held me down while Cole beat me up was standing next to the fire exit, grinning at me from underneath his hood.  
"Gerard?"Frank's hand went on my shoulder.  
"Frank,"I looked at him then pointed to where Tom was standing. Or had been.

"What? Gerard come on we have to drive back and get my car,"Frank sighed and walked away.  
"No but-"I stared at the fire exit for a moment before groaning and following Frank. Today was going to be ridiculously long.


	12. Well Shit

"I'm loving the apartment Gerard,"Mikey twirled around in a circle,"Very scary,"He said sarcastically.  
"Fuck you man my decorations are fucking awesome,"I muttered as I grabbed a bottle of coke from the fridge.  
"Coke? You got anything stronger?"Pete sighed as he jumped up and sat on the bench.

"I wasnt aware you drank,"I looked at him curiously.  
"Times like these you- need something to- to take the edge off,"Pete stuttered as Mikey came and stood next to him with an angry look on his face.  
"Right... And what are these times like?"I raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Well I uh um you know um music and um... Shit..."Pete took the glass of coke I had just poured him and turned away.

"Ryan and Brendon have been really difficult lately. With Spencer and Jon not in Jersey at the moment, Pete has to deal with them,"Mikey said confidently.  
"God those two. We went to the bean the other day and they were there arguing loudly over whether a staccato was too much. Fucking ridiculous. Di almost kicked them out,"Ray came and leant on the bench.

"Oh Di. How's she doing?"Frank came out of the bedroom with a- a gun in his hand.  
"Frank where the fuck did you get that? What the hell is going on?"I screeched and backed away from Frank's menacing look.

"Mikey's been feeding information to Cole,"Frank gave Mikey a dark glare.  
"What?"I looked from Mikey's confused face to Frank's scary fucking death glare back to Mikey's- satisfied face?  
"I fucking knew it,"Frank spat out and aimed the gun at Mikey.

"Frank!"I shouted and jumped in front of Mikey. Frank's arms faltered and the gun was lowered.  
"Gerard get out of the way! Dont you understand! Its Mikey's fault that Cole knows we're in San Diego! He gave Cole your apartment number! He told him Claire's fucking school! He needs to pay,"Frank raged.

"Frank if you think I'm just gonna let you shoot my brother then you are out of your fucking mind! If you want to kill him you have to kill me first!"I stood up straight, holding Mikey in place behind me.  
"Gerard dont do this,"Mikey and Frank said in unison.  
"Mikey I'm not letting you die!"

"Fine! I am not giving up everything I have fucking worked for this past year because of you Gerard. No. I'm doing this to protect Claire and Lily!"Frank pointed the gun at my leg.  
"Frank..."I stared at him.  
"Gerard I'm sorry. But he needs to go,"Frank's eyes never wavered from my eyes. He had no sympathy for me or Mikey.

"Do it then Frank. Shoot me then shoot my brother,"I felt the tears come into my eyes as Frank took in a deep breath. I closed my eyes and flinched as the gun shot sounded out loud and clear. And not a second later I could feel the most horrible burning sensation in my leg.

"Ah! Fuck!"I opened my eyes and fell to the ground, clutching at my bleeding leg.  
"Gerard? Gerard!"Frank appeared in front of me. The gun wasnt in his hands and he looked worried.  
"Get away from me you bastard!'I shouted and scrambled backwards. I couldnt even feel the pain in my leg anymore.

"Gerard what the fuck?"Frank fell to his knees and stared at me. I glanced down and noticed my leg wasnt bleeding.  
"I- you shot me,"I spluttered.  
"What? No I didnt. Gerard what the hell are you talking about?"  
"You- were going to shoot Mikey cause he- he's been giving information to- to Cole about- about us and you shot me in the leg, Frank. What is going on?"

I pushed my fists into my eyes and rubbed.  
"Gerard was that a hallucination?"Frank said softly. My eyes flew open and I found myself nodding to everyone. They were all standing behind Frank looking scared and worried.

"I- I'm okay,"I looked away from them all and struggled to stand up. That pain had felt so real. Frank's hands went around my waist and then he was helping me struggle over to the couch.  
"Do you want some water? You need food dont you,"Frank sighed,"When was the last time you ate?"Frank nodded at Pete who went into the kitchen and started rifling around.

"I um... Uh I'm not sure. I dont remember. Lunch time yesterday?"I muttered and sank into the couch, closing my eyes and trying to make sense of my hallucination.  
"For fucks sake Gerard you have got to stop doing that!"Frank yelled. I opened my eyes to see Frank stand up and stare at me sadly. Mikey and Ray were quietly talking on the other side of the road.  
"I'm sorry I dont notice. Time just flies by and usually if I'm not with you I dont eat dinner cause I dont notice the time,"I mumbled and bunched myself up into a ball in the corner of the couch.

Pete's appeared next to me with a glass of water and sandwich.  
"No I'm not-"  
"Dont you dare say you're not hungry Gerard. Shut up and eat it,"Frank ordered.  
"Frankie, I love when you get all controlling like that,"I smiled. That got a hint of a smile.

I took the water from Pete and drank it all in one go. He handed me the plate and sat down on the coffee table.  
"Thanks,"I mumbled and took a bite.  
"What uh what did you hallucinate about?"Mikey spoke up. Everyone looked at me and waited.

"Um. Mikey was telling me that Pete had found it really difficult with Brendon and Ryan. Then He mentioned Di and Frank, you walked out of the bedroom with a gun in your hand and started going on about Mikey feeding information to Cole about us. And thats how he knew we were here and what school Claire goes to and what apartment number I am..."I stared at the coffee table. What if that was true? Mikey was telling Cole everything about us?

"What? Thats fucking ridiculous. Mikey wouldnt do that. Mikey doesnt even know the name of Claire's school,"Frank laughed loudly.  
"Really? You dont know?"I looked up at Mikey.  
"What? I dont care what the name is. So long as she's doing well and shit,"Mikey shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh well... It was just a hallucination. Not real,"I took in a deep breath.  
"Yeah but- you felt it right? The shot? Thats why you fell?"Ray took a step forward.  
"Uh yeah. It felt fucking real,"I shivered as I remembered that horrible searing pain.  
"What did it feel like?"Pete asked, a weird tone to his voice.

"Like- burning. White hot. I felt like I was going to pass out,"I said and popped the last of my sandwich in my mouth.  
"So what happened when I shot you?"Frank sat down next to me, putting his arm across my shoulders and pulling me into him.

"I- you were gonna shoot Mikey. I kept telling you no and- it was like the rest of you just werent here and I got in front of Mikey and told you to do it so you shot me in the leg to- to get me out of the way but I guess thats when it ended,"I snuggled into Frank, enjoying the solidness of him. This was the real Frank. The one that cared about me. Not the one that shot me so he could shoot my brother. That was not real.

"Well dont worry. I would never shoot Mikey. Ever. No matter what. If it turns out that Mikey has been supplying Cole and his douche bags information about where we are I wouldnt kill him on the spot,"Frank said quietly, stroking my hair. I felt so sleepy. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply.

"Gerard?"Frank whispered. I didnt bother answering him. I was about to fall asleep in a second.  
"He's asleep,"Mikey said in relief.  
"You dont think he's clued on do you?"Ray asked.  
"Well I wouldnt be fucking surprised,"Frank grumbled,"You guys have got to get yourselves together. Ray, what the fuck was that at the airport? I told you not to bring any fucking guns. But you go and get someone to drive them here. And then you fucking greet him in the middle of the airpoort? What the fuck Ray. Have you no sense?"

Frank sighed deeply,"You guys need to get this straight. These times are fucking fine. You dont drink at all. And we certainly dont have friends that deliver our fucking suitcases. You hear me?"He demanded. He sounded like- a general.

"Frank dont go all captain on us right now,"Pete sighed,"I know we've got to be more careful but give us a day. We've been over there talking quite freely about it at base and on the phone with you. Being here and not being able to say a thing is actually really fucking hard. The fight's always on our minds. I lost a fucking friend the other day."

"Pete... I'm sorry... I didnt mean it like that I just- I really dont want Gerard finding out. Why hasnt anyone told me about this? Where was it?"Frank shifted slightly.  
"Lewis found him dead in his bed. Strangled we think,"Pete whispered.  
"Jesus... I'm gonna need to go back... I cant keep leading this while I'm over here,"Frank sighed loudly.

"What about Gerard? You cant force a fight and then a 2 week break to come over like you wanted to... He's not stupid. He'll try and make things right and he'll go to see you and he'll find out,"Mikey said quietly. Frank was going to force a fight?

"I know... I dont want him over there though. When we win this, I want Gerard to have finished college. I'm not letting him stop halfway through to try and win this fight,"Frank said firmly.  
"Yeah but we all know Gerard could help. A lot. No offence but he would lead us better than you Frank,"Ray stated.  
"I know I know I just dont want him to miss his last year,"Frank said in an anguished voice.

"You know, I dont start my last year until ferbuary next year... I can lead the fight until then..."I croaked. I fought back a grin as Frank jumped underneath me and the rest of the guys all went 'oh fuck' or 'oh shit'.  
"Gerard how long have you been awake?"Frank moved out from under me.  
"Didnt fall asleep,"I sat up and stared at him,"Frank. How could you keep something like this from me?"

"I- Gerard you heard me just then. I dont want you to throw away your last year,"Frank's face flooded with worry.  
"Did you not just hear me though? I can lead it until I start again,"I looked around at all the guys. Only Ray was nodding in agreement. Mikey shot a look at him and he stopped immediately.

"Gerard you dont understand. You wont-"  
"Wont what? Dont you trust me enough to come back here when I need to start?"I turned back to Frank.  
"Gerard, I know you so fucking well. Once you find out exactly whats going on, you're not gonna want to stop until its over which could last god knows how long."  
"Well tell me exactly whats going on! I bet I could find Cole in a week. He wouldnt have kept me in the dark if he didnt think that,"I glared.

"What?"Frank said in confusion.  
Oh fuck. Oh shit oh fuck oh,"Fuck."  
"Gerard what did you say? Has- have you been talking to Cole?"  
"I- no. Not at all,"I turned away from him and stared at the phone. It was on the coffee table.

"Gerard dont lie to me,"Frank moved in front of me.  
"I didnt put that there..."I said slowly.  
"What? Gerard tell me the truth!"Frank cried.  
"I did not put the phone there. Did one of you guys touch it?"I stood up and looked round at everyone's shaking heads.

"It was there when we got here..."Frank looked at the phone sitting innocently and silently,"But it wasnt when... when we left..."  
I grabbed the phone and looked at the screen. It was in a call. That had been going for 6 fucking hours. I put it to me ear and said,"Hello?"

The phone started beeping showing that the call had ended.  
"Someone's been listening to us talk..."I dropped the phone back onto the coffee table. Not so innocent looking now.  
"We need to get to Mum's. Now,"Frank said quietly.


	13. Deal With It.gif

"FUCK!"Frank punched the wall.  
"Frank! Calm the fuck down!"Linda shouted over the top of his cussing.  
"Mum! He knows! He knows what fucking classroom she is in! How the fuck am I supposed to fucking down!"Frank started pacing,"I'm gonna fucking kill him. If its the last thing I do I will fucking kill him."

"Frank,"I rushed over and grabbed him, holding him tightly on the arms,"We need to figure out who his spies are. That way we can have Claire move schools without Cole finding out. Okay? But for us to do this I need you to get a hold of yourself. Think you can do that for me?"  
Frank took a deep breath and nodded,"Okay... Sorry Mum."

"Its alright darling. I need you to pick Claire and Lily up. I want them home now,"Linda sighed,"This is gonna mess up Lily's exams."  
"Gerard can you come with me? I dont really want to be alone right now,"Frank sniffed.  
"Of course Pumpkin. I'll drive,"I let my hands drop, one of them taking Frank's.

"We'll be back soon,"Frank muttered as we walked out of the lounge where everyone was sitting drinking coffee.  
"Alright. Love you Frank,"Linda called.  
"Love you too Mum,"Frank replied.  
"Right, you boys can tell me everything. How much ammo do we have left?"I heard Linda say as we walked out the door.

Once Frank and I were in the car and on our way to get Lily I said,"So. I told you about Cole calling me... Wanna tell me exactly what it is thats happening back home?"  
Frank took in a deep breath and said,"Okay. Um... When Cole got out of prison, you remember Jack right?"

"Yeah."  
"Well he told Brendon that Cole hadnt gone back home and that instead he was hiding out somewhere and wanted all of his to turn up to an important meeting entitled 'exterminate the fags' the next day. Jack said he had been asked to go but he was over all that fighting shit. He believes we have rights and stuff now so he's our inside man. So anyway, Jack found out that Cole was gathering 'followers' to try and kill all the gay people in Jersey and then New York and where ever else. So naturally Brendon told Pete who told Mikey and me. Bob came back from Chicago to help out but obviously Cole doesnt know that.

"So um... Because the guys were all together and were trying to warn people, they all kept asking me for help so I uh I gave it to them and then, somehow, with the guys warning people, we had some followers of our own. They all voted me their fuckign captain which I did not want at first but when Mikey called with Cole on the phone I knew I needed to accept my responsibilities. I called Mikey later and he said that Cole had a gun to him so he had to act natural."

"How come Linda knows?"I said as I pulled up outside Lily's school.  
"Uh- she heard me talking to Mikey about getting guns of our own for protection and so I had to tell her everything and for some reason she didnt go straight to the cops abou what was happening and instead said to leave the weapons to her so I did and next thing I knew we had a base in Jersey with a box full of guns and a box full of ammo."

"Jesus,"I muttered. We were walking across the car park towards the front office. The sky was cloudy and dark, threatening to rain on us.  
"I know..."Frank sighed,"I'll continue my story once we're back in the car cause I dont think we should be heard talking about it at school."

I nodded, opening the door for Frank, and followed him inside.  
"Hi, I need to sign out Lily Evans,"Frank smiled politely at the lady at the front desk. Her grey hair was pulled back into a tight bun, making the glare on her dragon like face more sinister.  
"And who are you?"  
"I'm her brother."  
"Name?"She muttered and started typing on the comuter.

"Lily Evans,"Frank repeated. I could see the anger building up in his eyes.  
"No,"The bitch looked back up at Frank, annoyance etched in every line on her face,"Your name."  
"Frank Iero."  
"Sorry. You arent on here. You dont have permission to sign her out,"She smirked at us.  
"Well then call my fucking Mum she'll give you fucking permission,"Frank spat.

My eyes flicked to the left at a door opening and Lily walked out looking pissed off.  
"Lily?"  
Her head snapped up as she took notice of Frank's raging,"Frank? Gerard? What are you guys doing here?"  
"We're here to take you home,"Frank left the dragon lady and grabbed Lily's hand to drag her towards the door.

"Um excuse me but you cant just take her out of school like this,"The dragon lady stood up.  
"Well then call my mum like I fucking told you to and you'll find that actually I can do whatever the fuck I want when it comes to my best friend,"Frank snarled and continued walking outside.

I looked back at the spluttering woman for a second before rushing after Frank and Lily.  
"Frank that was fucking awesome. Everyone in school is scared of Miss Pike. Like, really scared.,"Lily grinned as we walked over to my car.

"Mmm. Lily you know how I said I dont want you having anything to do with the fight?"Frank sighed. Lily glanced at me before nodding,"Well I changed my mind. I need your help."  
"Whats happened? Arent the guys arriving today?"Lily said as we got in the car.  
"They're at Mum's now. Gerard found out about it all today and then it turns out that Cole knows damn near fucking everything about us because he gave Gerard a call and has been watching us for god knows how long,"Frank grumbled as I started for Claire's school.

"Holy fuck..."  
"I know. So Gerard. Where was I? Oh right. So once Mum got us the ammo and shit I decided that we needed to go straight to the source. It's no secret that Cole's oldest brother is a police man so we know thats where he's getting his guns and shit. We found out how they get delivered and started to track the deliveries but they caught on straight away and uh stopped us. Now they have decoys as well as the real one so we gave up on that idea.

"We know they've got bases all over but we dont know where their main base is. When we do raids its us attacking a mini base,"Frank had gotten quieter now.  
"What happens on these raids?"I said and stopped the car outside Claires school.  
"Well... We obviously plan it before hand so we know how to break in. We keep as many prisoners as we can but- not all of the people there um... Survive,"Frank mumbled before getting out of the car as fast as possible.

I really hoped that didnt mean that they killed people. I bolted out of the car and after Frank who was already at the reception.  
"Hi Frankie! Do you need to see Claire?"The much more friendly receptionist smiled as we walked in.  
"Actually I need to take her out of school early today, Kathy,"Frank smiled brightly.

"Of course! Do you mind telling me why though? Just so I can let her teacher know,"Kathy said as she picked up the phone and pressed a button.  
"Oh uh-"Frank glanced at me,"Family emergency."  
"Oh dear. I hope everythings okay?"Kathy started drumming her fingers.

"Oh uh Mum's just- um- had an uh a-accident,"Frank turned to me and buried his face in my chest, pretending to cry. I put my arms around him to make it more authentic.  
"Oh no! You poor poor things. I'm sure she- yes hi Sherryl, I need you to send Claire to the reception please. Her brother is here to pick her up,"Kathy said into the phone.

"Why? Uh-"Kathy glanced at me.  
"Dont tell her, we want to tell Claire,"I said quickly. It probably wouldnt be good to tell Claire that Linda had been in an accident only for her to get home and have Linda be fine.  
"Its a family emergency. Her Mum's been in an accident but dont tell her, Frank would like to tell her himself,"Kathy said sadly. Kathy hung up the phone and looked up at us,"She'll be on her way in a minute. Take a seat."

Frank detached himself from me and went to sit down, keeping his face averted from Kathy to hide his dry eyes.  
"Frank. In this- book that you're telling me about. Do the good guys kill the bad guys during the raids?"I said quietly.

Frank took a deep breath and said,"Sometimes. They uh the good guys do their best to you know, take them as prisoners so they can find Cole but the bad guys are shooting the good guys so the good guys fight back for their own safety."  
"Oh..."I couldnt think about that. As upsetting as it was that Frank was basically justifying killing these guys, I understood. These guys were trying to kill my friends. So Frank was giving them the chance to fight back.

"I dont understand how Cole managed to get all these followers in like what, two weeks? Almost three?"  
"I know. But hey, we managed to do it in even less time. We're immediately better than him,"Frank grinned at me. I smiled and stood up as A girl of about 9 years old walked through the reception doors holding Claire's hand.

"Frankie!"Claire let go of the girls hand and ran to Frank, jumping on his lap.  
"Hey kiddo!"Frank smiled and held her tightly.  
"How come you're here?"Claire asked happily.  
"I'm taking you home,"Frank stood up, holding onto her.

"How come?"Claire repeated.  
"Well..."Frank said slowly as we walked out the door. As soon as we were far away enough Frank said,"Mummy wants you home. I dont know why though she just told me to get you and Lily."  
"Lily!"Claire spotted her sitting in the back of my car.

"Yup. Lily's here,"Frank muttered. Frank put Claire in the backseat, buckling her in, while constantly checking over his shoulder.  
"Oh my god,"Frank said suddenly once he was in the car.  
"What?"I said.

"I- you know how Cole knows? Well I've been seeing this guy, always in the distance just watching me. It makes sense now,"Frank thumped his head on the head rest.  
"It doesnt matter now. We all know so lets just go home and deal with it,"I sighed.


	14. An Ambush

“Goodnight Claire,”I smiled.  
“Night Gerard,”She leant up and kissed me on the cheek before climbing off of my lap and onto Frank’s.  
“Thank you for picking me up, Frankie,”Claire whispered and kissed him,”Goodnight. Love you.”  
“Love you too kiddo,”Frank smiled as she went running upstairs with Linda.

As soon as I heard her bedroom door shut I leant forward and stared at everyone,”So how are we going to find out who Cole’s spies are?”  
Everyone was silent for a moment before Pete perked up,”A bunch have guys in the year above have disappeared from school... If thats any help...”

“No that wont do. They could have just stopped going to school and are still in Jersey helping Cole... Frank and Lily I meant you guys more. Any new people at work or school?”I looked at Lily’s thoughtful face as Linda came back in.

“None that I know of... There could be a new person up in head office though so I’m not much help,”Frank muttered. He looked pissed off.  
“Oh no...”Lily looked up at us all,”Sam came into my class around two weeks ago oh fuck what have I done?”She put her hands over her mouth in shock, tears about to spill over.

“Jesus christ Lily! I knew I shouldnt have trusted him!”Frank stood up and pointed a finger at her,”Now do you fucking understand why you dont trust people?!”  
“Frank I’m sorry! He- I- Its not my fault okay! How was I supposed to know that he was going to tell everything to fucking Cole so that Cole could spy on us all? Huh? How is that my fault?”She stood up and glared back at Frank.

“Lily! You dont go telling a guy you just met fucking everything! What exactly did you tell him?”Frank groaned.  
“I told him where you work, I told him Claire’s school and class number and he obviously knows where we live and I told him Gerard’s apartment building,”Lily sat down in defeat.

“Why? Why would you tell him any of that?!”Frank screeched at her.  
“I told him Claire’s class because he asked! He asked me if I had any brothers and sisters so I said an older brother and a younger sister and he asked what school she went to so I told him and he said his little sister went to that school. He asked me what class she was in because Arya isnt very good at making friends and it would be good if I could get Claire to make friends with her. He asked me if you went to school and I said no you work at Starbucks and he asked which one because his Mum owns the one on Oak Street and I said you dont work there, you work at the one on Queen Street. That good enough for you?”

“I- mostly. Why did you tell him about Gerard’s apartment building?”Frank covered up his defeat quickly.  
“I- he asked if he could take me out to the movies on the weekend and I said I couldnt cause I was staying the night with you guys. He asked me about Gerard and asked what he was doing and how he was- fuck I’m so stupid. I cant believe I told him all that about you, Gerard I’m so sorry,”Lily sobbed.

Frank stared at her for a second before sighing and walking over to comfort her.  
“Guys its good that we know how they found out but that doesnt solve how they know my apartment number and how they broke in to get that phone call going,”I sighed and stood up.

“Yeah sorry. Ray, did you bring the thing? Maybe we can focus on that for a bit,”Frank sighed.  
“The what? Oh the map. I did but its at Gerard’s,”Ray mumbled.  
“Well then lets go get it,”I smiled.

-time lapse-

Frank's POV

I watched Gerard scan the map with interest. He was taking this on way too much. I could tell he was getting ready to take over. I was happy to let him, I just didnt know if he would let me take over when he needed to go back. We were in the dining room, the chairs had all been moved back from the table and Gerard and I were standing at it. Everyone was sitting down, silently waiting for Gerard to say something.

"So- you dont know where Cole is? And yet, these,"He gestured to all the mini bases,"Have all been found?"Gerard started circling around the table.  
"Um... Yeah..."I bit my thumb nail and watched as he continued deducing the map.

"Someone get me a pen. A vivid preferably,"Gerard snapped his fingers. Lily stood up and went to grab the peciln next to the phone.  
"Here,"Lily handed Gerard the pencil, glanced at the map and sat back down.

"Okay so all the circles are ones you havent taken down right?"  
“Yeah and the ones crossed out are-”  
“The ones you have taken down so- has anybody,”Gerard placed the pencil at the top of the map on one of the circles,”Done this? Connect,”He drew a line between two mini bases,”The dots.”

I watched in amazement as he connected them all to make the shape of a large 7 pointed star.  
“Gerard that-”  
“Isnt all. Gimme a minute,”He started walking around again, moving his fingers in swift lines that meant nothing to me.

It took another 5 minutes for Gerard to start drawing lines again. I watched as he brought lines into the centre and connected them. Once he was done, they had made the shape of a pentagon in the middle surrounding-  
“The- the forest?”

“Fucking bastard,”Gerard snarled and threw the pencil down onto the table. Mikey stood up and moved closer. He took one look at what forest it was and let out a snort.  
“Of fucking course. Why wouldnt he pick a place like that? Like we’re gonna think to look there.”

“What where is it?”Pete said as everyone got up to have a look.  
"Thats the forest where your Mum-"  
"Yep,"Gerard muttered and went to the fridge.

"What are we waiting for then? We should go over there right now and take em by surprise,"Pete thumped his fist on the table.  
"We are in no postion to go attack guys. Ammo and weapons are at an all time low and that forest his huge. We have no idea where in the forest they are or how many people are there or anything. No. We need to work out a plan,"I looked round at them all.

I picked the pencil back up and started erasing the lines Gerard had made.  
"Frank what are you doing?"Gerard walked back over, a can of coke in his hand.  
"Look, we dont know if there are more mini bases or anything. Every time we take one down a day later we find another one. We cant assume that Cole is hiding out in the forest until we're certain we've found all of the mini bases."

"True... Okay, how many 'followers' do we think Cole has?"Gerard took the pencil from me and started walking around the table again. Everyone else took this as a sign to sit back down and wait.  
"Around... 100? Give or take a few."  
"And how many do we have?"Gerard stopped and looked at me.  
"Uh... Ray?"I looked at him for help.

"47 as of half 12 today,"Ray said in what I liked to call his soldier voice.  
"47? Jesus. Why the hell do we have so little?!"Gerard thumped his coke down.  
"Cole moved ridiculously fast. He was probably planning this as soon as he went to prison. We've had two weeks. Jersey may have a lot of gay people willing to defend themselves, but there is a shit tonne more anti gay people crazy enough to kill. Gerard you cant go getting angry at us for anything we've done these past two weeks because it has been hell!"I glared at him.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to put things together... Okay, first things first, we're going back with you guys,"Gerard looked at the guys and smiled,"I aint staying here. I cant do this here."  
"But Gerard your-"  
"I know I'll come back in february I promise. Linda? You're gonna take Claire and Lily to your Mum's,"Gerard looked back at the map and started circling again.

"No way! I'm not going to fucking Washington. I'm going with you-"  
"You'll do as he says Lily,"Linda growled at her.  
"Mum! I want to-"  
"No! Gerard is in charge here and if he says we're going to my Mum's then we are going to my Mum's,"Linda stood up,"I need a drink. Anyone else?"

"What have you got?"Pete asked.  
"Whiskey beer or wine?"Linda said and opened the pantry.  
"I'll have a beer thanks,"Pete smiled at her.  
"Can I have a whiskey?"Mikey sighed.

"Mikey!"Gerard spun to face him, shock covering his face,"You drink?"  
"Um. No?"Mikey looked away and pushed his glasses up his nose.  
"God,"Gerard turned back to the map, silent once again.

"Frank you want anything?"Linda turned to me.  
I glanced at Gerard's stiff back before shaking my head,"I'm fine thanks."  
"Okay. Look at this,"Gerard pointed to one of the mini bases and everyone stood up to get a good look,"Look at the street its on. Then look at whats on the next street over."

I looked and almost fucking screamed in frustration,"They're finding out where we live... That- Pete where did your friend live?"I glanced at him.  
"Over- here. Fuck!"Pete pointed to a street one over from a base we still hadnt taken down.

"This is insane. How on earth are they finding out where we live?"Ray said.  
"Cole's been planning this for months I bet. And like you guys said, he moves fast. Okay. So we know how they're killing us in our beds, so what do we do?"Gerard looked around at us all. The dim lighting was throwing shadows across his face making him look ridiculously hot.  
"Come on guys, what do you think? We plan an ambush."


	15. Promise Me

Frank's POV

"Promise me one thing Gerard... Promise me that at the end of january, you will come back here. You will let me take back the reins. You will finish college."  
"Frank,"Gerard sighed. I propped myself up on my elbow and looked at him seriously,"Frank you know I will."  
"Promise me Gerard,"I said firmly.

"I promise that when january ends, I will let you take back the reins of the fight and I will come back here to finish college,"Gerard's eyes never wavered from mine. God, I felt dizzy with the look he was giving me,"Only if you come back here with me and lead the fight from here again,"He added.

"Gerard! Come on. You know I cant. Once I go over there, I wont be coming back here until its over. Cole is getting closer and closer to finding our headquarters. I can feel it. I've got to stop him before that happens. He gets there, he has access to everything,"I said quietly. We were back at his apartment to get some time alone. We had taken the guys' stuff over to Mum's because there was more space there but now we were in bed, the only light coming from the crack in the door. Gerard had wanted to leave the kitchen light on for some reason.

"But you've been doing fine so far..."Gerard mumbled.  
"Gerard. Deal with it. I wont be coming back,"I sighed and fell down onto my back.  
"Fine..."Gerard grumbled and rolled over so he had his back to me. For fucks sake.

"Gerard... You do realise this is the last night we have to properly relax before all hell breaks loose right? Do you really wanna waste it with your back to me?"I moved over and trailed a finger lightly round his neck. I watched as he shivered slightly before turning to face me, an angry smile on his face.

"You're gonna get punished for this you know,"Gerard said seriously. He stared at me nodding for a second before rolling on top of me, pinning my arms at my side and grinning at me with his hair falling around his face. It seemed like only yesterday he had gotten it cut but it was already curling around the sides of his face, framing it perfectly.

"You're so hot,"I sighed without realising.  
"Right back at ya baby,"He grinned then leant down and kissed me. I tried to reach up and run my fingers through his hair as his mouth moved against mine but he still had me pinned and was relishing my squirming beneath him.

"You dont get to do anything tonight,"Gerard whispered as he moved his mouth down my jawline and onto my neck.  
"What- what do you mean?"I whispered.  
"I mean,"Gerard sat up and looked down at me, a mischeivous grin on his face,"I'm gonna tease you."

At first I didnt know what to say. The look on his face was different to any other time he had teased me like this.  
"Gerard what are you planning...?"I asked slowly. He ignored me and got off of me and reached down onto the ground. A second later he was holfing up my belt.

"Oh no. Gerard fuck no,"I tried to scramble away but he was too fast and had one of my hands in a flash, tying it to the bed post,"Gerard come on!"  
"If this is the last night we get before all hell breaks loose then I'm gonna have some fucking fun,"Gerard winked at me before getting up and pulling the tie for the curtain off the hook and falling onto the bed next to me.

He grabbed my loose hand and tied it up as well. He looked at me legs thoughtfully before shrugging his shoulders and climbing on top of me again. We were only in our boxers and I could see that he was already hard.  
"Gerard come on,"I tugged at my bonds before watching him pull off his boxers.

"I'm gonna put on a show for you,"He winked at me again before crawling up and kissing me quickly before lying down next to me.  
"What are you gonna- Gerard no come on this isnt fair!"I struggled again, unable to tear my eyes away from his hand slowly moving down to his dick.

I had only ever seen him jerk off once before and it had been the hottest thing in the fucking world. I had ended up stopping him before he came so that we could fuck. His face now, the look of pleasure at what he was doing, was making me hard. And making me struggle more.

"Oh fuck,"Gerard breathed as his hand started moving up and down his dick.  
"Gerard- Gee stop- please,"I pleaded, my eyes darting between his face and his cock.  
"Fuck off. I'm enjoying this,"Gerard looked at me, lust shining in his eyes for a second before he closed them and kissed me, moaning into my mouth.

He broke off the kiss and I saw that he wasn't jerking himself off anymore. Instead he was moving further down the bed and was pulling off my boxers. I had been so focused on Gerard I hadnt even noticed how badly I wanted him to touch me. Now that we were focusing on me I was painfully hard, despite the lack of restriction.

"Ge- touch me, p-please,"I moaned and closed my eyes tight, hoping to god he would.  
"Not yet,"He whispered, his voice drenched with satisfaction. I opened my eyes and looked down to see him get off the bed.  
"Gerard- dont- dont leave me like this. This isn't teasing this is torture!"I called after him as he left the room.

"I wont be a minute,"He replied. I looked up at the curtain tie holding my hand and gave a tug. It was tight as fuck but not so that it was hurting me. That fucker sure knew how to tie me up.  
"Gerard! Hurry the fuck up!"I groaned.

"I'm back now Pumpkin,"He said breathlessly as he walked in the door.  
"Whats that?"I couldnt see what was in his hands at all.  
"Cream,"Gerard muttered as he popped the cap and crawled up the bed to me.

"What- what are you gonna do?"I stuttered. I couldnt fucking handle this. He looked so fucking delicious with the way he was studying my body. I shivered as his fingers trailed along my tattoos before he kissed me again, biting my lip ring and tugging on it lightly. I moaned into his mouth, aching to put my hands in his hair or on his back. Fucking anywhere.

"Holy fuck thats cold!"I shouted out suddenly as he squirted cream along my tattoo,"Gerard- fucking- please-"I panted.  
"Oh man,"Gerard grinned at me before licking all the cream off of me. I arched my back as best I could, trying to get closer to him or- fucking something.

"Gerard please, I'll do anything,"I begged as he crept closer to my dick.  
"How bad do you want it?"He whispered as he sat across my stomach, his back to me.  
"I- I feel like I'm about to explode with how much I want you,"I said knowing fully well that saying I wanted him and not someone to touch me would make him crack.

"Sounds good enough for me,"He said happily before placing his mouth around the head and sucking it in, making me shout out and cuss like crazy. Gerard moaned around my dick, sending vibrations through my body and making my hips buck up. I clenched my fists around the bonds and closed my eyes.

"Gerard- I'm close,"I puffed. I wished I'd never said it though because Gerard pulled off and looked over his shoulder at me, an unreadable look on his face.  
"How close?"  
"I- very."

"Okay,"He smiled and turned around. He put his hands down either side of my head and smiled widely down at me. I wanted to reach up and kiss him but I couldnt reach because I was fucking tied up.  
"You jerk,"I groaned, giving my bonds one last tug,"You fucking suck."  
"I know I do,"He winked at me and shook his hair out of his face.

"Fuck me Gerard why are you doing this?"I whispered.  
"Okay I'll fuck you,"He sighed like it was a hassle,"Actually no, you're going to fuck me."  
"Please- anything."

I closed my eyes and waited as he grabbed a condom.  
"Mmph,"I couldnt stop my hips from jumping up as he slid the condom on, chuckling at how much I needed it. A minute later he was over the top of me, both of us letting out a groan as he lowered himself onto me.

"Fuck you're so tight,"I mumbled.  
"That feels so fucking good,"Gerard said as he sat there for a second. He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose before pulling off of me almost all the way, then slamming back down with a shout.

"Oh my fucking god,"He cursed, grabbing the sheets below my arms and looking down at my face with that blinding look of love.  
"Fucking- ahh- love- y-you,"I uttered out.  
"I- shit- love- oh fuck- you too- jesus christ!"He yelled out as he picked up his pace. He moved one hand down to start jerking himself off, moaning my name so fucking loud.

"Oh my- fuck!"He shouted out, his muscles tensing up around me as he came. God I would never get over that feeling, the squeezing of my dick inside him.  
"Oh fucking hell,"I moaned as I came, gripping my bonds tightly and squeezing my eyes shut.

We rode out our orgasms before Gerard pulled off of me completely and collapsed on me, both of us breathing heavily and not saying a word. I felt so far away from everything right now. Even the ringing of Gerard's phone out in the kitchen sounded a mile away.

"Leave it..."I whispered, sensing Gerard was about to go get it,"If it's Mikey he'll call again in five minutes."  
"Mmm,"Gerard hummed quietly.  
"Hey... Hey sweetie?"I nudged him with my shoulder,"You wanna untie me now?"

He let out a soft laugh,"Yeah... Sorry,"He murmered as he reached up and undid them. As soon as my hand was free I brought it down and ran it through his hair. It was like an addiction toughing his hair, I just couldnt get enough of it.

"Whats the time?"Gerard whispered as he threw the belt and curtain tie to the floor and snuggled into my side.  
"Not sure,"I yawned as I wrapped my arms around him, enjoying not having the above my head again. I felt so blissfully happy right now. I could tell Gerard felt the same because he was completely flopped on top of me, every part of him completely relaxed. Gerard's phone started ringing again, making us both groan.

"I should probably get that,"He sighed. It took a second for him to peel himself away from me and stumble out into the lounge. I pulled the now disgusting condom off and threw it into the corner where I hoped the bin was.

I couldnt hear Gerard talking at all as I snuggled down into the blankets. He appeared in the doorway, looking scared and worried and- I couldnt even explain it.  
"Gerard whats wrong?"I sat up straight away, ignoring the head rush.

"I- its someone in the building. I dont know who but- that was Cole. He asked me if I had enjoyed messing you around and then hung up. Someone in the building is on his side. And they have to be either above or below us or something,"Gerard sat down on the bed hard, gripping the edge and closing his eyes.

"M- maybe we should go back to Mum's?"I said quietly, shuffling over to Gerard and putting my hand on top of his.  
"I think so. We- we should just stay away from here for a bit,"He mumbled. The peace I had felt just a few minutes ago was gone, replaced by a sick fear in the pit of my stomach.  
"Guess we better get dressed then... I'll call Mum,"I sighed and stood up. I looked at Gerard's serious face as he said,"Looks like all hell just broke loose."  
He could not have been more right.


	16. The Nightmare Before Halloween

Gerard's POV

"Fuck I left my toothbrush,"Frank groaned.  
"It doesnt matter. We'll pick it up tomorrow,"I sighed, pulling Frank closer to me and nosing at the crook of his neck. It was about quarter to eleven and we had just gotten into Frank's bed after telling the guys what had happened. At this rate we werent gonna be in California for Frank's birthday.

"Do you think we should go back over there now?"I whispered in the darkness.  
"Fuck no. I'm having my birthday here. Claire wont see me for god knows how long once I leave so we're having this party,"Frank said firmly.  
"Oh shit I didnt even think of that,"I mumbled.

"Mmm. Gerard I just want to sleep now I'm sorry,"Frank sighed and placed his hand over the top of mine, around his waste.  
"Yeah sorry. I do too I suppose,"I yawned,"I love you Pumpkin."  
"Love you too Gee,"Frank murmured. I kissed the back of his neck lightly before drifting off straight away.

-time lapse-

Frank's POV

"Gerard?"I called softly and crept up, gripping my gun tightly. It was new years eve. Damn near everyone living in these apartments would be out partying. The only people that I knew were here was Gerard, Mum and that traitorous fucking bitch.

I glanced behind me, shining my torch down the stairs before darting through the doors out of the stairwell and into the dark hallway. She had cut the power. Fuck. Not one light was on in the building. The stairs were never lit but fuck, the halls? This place was creepy enough as it was.

"Gerard? Are you up here?"I called desperately. I glanced up and down the corridor before heading towards his old apartment. It had been so long since I had been here. I knew Gerard still had his key so if he had been chased upstairs he would have come straight for here. I just didnt know if She was up here as well.

I reached the door and stared at it. It was ajar but I couldnt hear anything inside. I pushed the door open slowly, cringing as it creaked like in a movie.  
"Gerard"I whispered hoarsely, staring around at the place. It was pretty dark but I could still see the place was trashed. At that moment I heard him whimper. He was in pain.

"Gerard?! I'm coming Gee!"I took two more steps in, feeling something thin push against my leg. I shone the torch down to try and see what it was. In the silence I heard two ticks and then I saw a bright flash of light, felt a searing heat and then nothing at all.

Gerard's POV

I wriggled and squirmed underneath all the bonds, keeping me on the chair as I heard Frank call for me. I tried calling out for him but She shut me up with a slice to my cheek.  
"Gerard?! I'm coming Gee!"Frank shouted. I heard him take two more steps and then I knew it was too late.

I screamed against my gag as I heard the explosion go off next door, struggling against the ropes surrounding me. Tears were streaming down my face as She laughed, trailing her hands along my shoulders as she walked around me. She leant down in front of me and whispered in my ear,"I do belive we've won."

She pulled off my gag and looked down at me expectantly but I couldnt even talk. All I could do was sob helplessly. I had lost. I had lost everything. Everyone important to me. They were all gone. Cole had fucking won. I still couldnt understand why he had left me alive. But then, as I heard footsteps walk into the room, I looked up and in an instant I understood why.

"Well well well. What do we have here?"Cole said, a look of pure satisfaction on his face as he strolled towards us. I glared at him through blurry eyes as he smiled at Her.  
"Fuck you,"I spat out.  
"I dont really think that's the right thing to say Gerard. You should be bartering for your life right now,"Cole sat down on the couch that I had shared so much laughter and drinks with Her on.

"Whats the point? You've taken everyone... Everything I love... What do I have to live for now? My brother's gone my boyfriends gone my friends are gone... Why would I want to live after all of this?"I sniffed, feeling another load of tears make their way out.  
"Well... How about the fact that your boyfriend is still alive?"Cole said calmly as he sat back in the couch and pulled a phone out.

"Liar,"I snarled. I tried to lunge at him but the ropes stopped me.  
"Oh Gerard,"He chuckled and clapped his hands twice,"I'm not a liar Gerard. I thought you knew that?"  
I stared at him, not once through this whole ordeal had he lied to me, but how could Frank still be alive after-

"Frank!"I screeched, pulling at my ropes even harder, ignoring the pain as they reopened my wounds from tugging against them. Two guys were dragging him into the apartment with grim looks on their faces.  
"Gerard shut up,"Cole snapped and stood up. He took Frank from the two guys and pulled him into the arm chair across from me.

"G-Gerard?"Frankie coughed out. His face was blackend and swollen and bleeding. I could barely recognise him.  
"Frankie. Baby,"I whispered, letting the tears fall.

"Gerard its gonna be fine. Its gonna be okay. Everything's fine,"Frank said softly, his voice suddenly stronger and closer.

"It's all okay. Gerard you're safe. You're here. It's all okay. Shhhh its all okay,"Frank whispered as he stroked my hair.  
"Oh god Frankie,"I sobbed and grabbed for him, needing to feel him.

I opened my eyes and let out my breath at the sight of Frank's bedroom. I ignored everyone standing in the doorway watching me and buried my head in Frank's arms.  
"You're okay now. Its all okay. You're here and I love you and its all fine,"Frank whispered, holding me tightly.  
"Fuck Frank,"I shuddered as I remembered it all too well,"Fucking nightmares man."


	17. Gothalicious With Cheese

"It- It was like I was you or something. Like I was in your head and- and then once the bomb went off I was back in my own head and listening as the- the bomb went off..."I shivered and snuggled into Frank more. We were downstairs in the lounge with Mikey and Pete, talking quietly.

Apparently I had been shouting and crying in my sleep and had woken everyone up. I had gone on for a few minutes before I had actually woken up. Linda had put everyone back to bed but now Frank and I were downstairs talking to Mikey and Pete in the dying firelight.

"Gerard thats terrible,"Mikey whispered, his face covered in odd shadows.  
"Mmm..."I hummed as Frank stroked my hair softly.  
"It- it felt so real... Like it was a hallucination... But- in a dream?"  
"I know the feeling,"Pete mumbled.

I sighed and felt around for Frank's hand. In a second he was there, lacing his fingers with mine and squeezing them softly. The only noise was of the fire crackling quietly in the background.  
"We should go up to bed..."Mikey said quietly.  
"I dont want to,"I mumbled.  
"No I meant Pete and I. You guys can stay down here,"Mikey said as he got up, the couch creaking beneath him.

I opened my eyes and watched him pull Pete to his feet before taking his hand and starting to walk out of the lounge.  
"Mikey?"I called. He stopped walking and turned around, coming straight for me.  
"You okay Gee?"He scanned my face.

"Can I have a hug from you?"I whispered. Mikey smiled slowly and nodded.  
"Course. But you'll have to get up,"He said. He took my free hand and pulled me to my feet and into his arms.  
"I'm sorry Mikey..."I breathed into his hair.

"Sorry for what?"  
"For causing you so much stress and drama all the time."  
"Gerard you dont have to be sorry. Dont be silly."

"Gerard we should go up to bed,"Frank said behind me. I let go of Mikey and nodded at the floor, staring at my feet.  
"Come on,"Frank's hand slipped into mine and tugged me along behind Mikey and Pete. We plodded upstairs silently, mumbling a goodnight to Mikey and Pete as they went into the guest bedroom. I was so tired now. Picking the guys up felt like forever ago.

"Gerard who was the girl?"Frank whispered once we were in his bed, holding each other tightly.  
"I- dont know... I know her though... We both know her. I just cant even picture her now. Its weird,"I sighed. Everytime I tried to remember her, everything except the bright red scarf covered in sparkles she was wearing just blurred out,"Except for her red scarf."

I shuddered as the sound of Frank's calling echoed in my head before the loud explosion filled my mind.  
"Hey hey hey, Gerard? Its okay. I'm here. I'm okay. You're okay. We're all okay,"Frank whispered as I started shaking. I fell asleep to the sound of his comforting voice and the feeling of his hand running through my hair.

-time lapse-

"Okay thanks,"Frank said before ending the call and throwing his phone down next to me.  
"What did they say?"I asked.  
Frank ran his fingers through his hair and fell back down onto the bed next to me,"They said that as soon as the guys' plane left Cole launched an all out attack at the school."  
"Wait- at the school? Not- uh... Huh?"I sat up and looked down at Frank's weary face.

"Mmm hmm. I dont know what has gotten into him. Why he's just attacked the most random place,"Frank threw his arm over his eyes and let out a frustrated groan.  
"So um... Hmm..."I stared at Frank's belly slowly rising and falling with his slow breathing.

"Come on. We've got to go tell the guys,"Frank sighed and rolled out of bed, grabbing his jeans from the floor and pulling them on before walking out. I starede at the door, listening to Frank knock on doors and shout about a meeting.  
"For fucks sake..."I muttered before getting up and pulling on my own jeans to follow Frank.

"What the fuck?"Mikey groaned as he stumbled out of his room, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.  
"Cole attacked the school,"I said. Mikey blinked at me as Pete tumbled out of the door behind him, grumbling about not getting enough sleep.

"Um... Where's Frank gone?"He blinked at me again before pushing past me and practically falling down the stairs,"Frank?!"  
"Mikey- Gerard whats going on?"Pete yawned as he walked over to me.  
"Meeting,"I sighed. Frank could explain.

Pete nodded and we both made our way downstairs. Ray and Bob were sitting wrapped in blankets staring glumly at nothing.  
"Should someone get Linda?"Ray croaked.  
"I'm already here,"She called from the kitchen.

Frank was leaning against the mantel above the fire place, staring hard at the ashes.  
"What was it like when you guys left?"He said in a hoarse voice.  
"The day before we left it was just the usual. Just a few dicks shoving people around with threats to shoot them. No reports of anything. And the day we left it was- ridiculously quiet. Pete managed to use a phone on the plane to call down and find out if everything was okay and they said it was. That was about... half past 9?"Mikey informed us.

"Because as soon as the bell rang Cole and a group of older men that we have never even seen or heard of attacked our old school. The three guys we have there managed to react pretty quickly and thank god they had protection but anyway we- we lost one of them and about ten other students died..."Frank's voice faded away to nothing.

Fuck,"Well what are the police doing about it? What happened with Cole and that and then our guys?"  
"Somehow Cole and that got away in the confusion of it all and our guys gapped it as well,"Frank sighed and turned around to face us all.

Everyone was silent, taking it all in.  
"You guys didnt unpack at all did you?"Linda said from the doorway as Frank dragged himself over to me and sat down on my lap.  
"Nnoo?"Ray glanced up at her.  
"Good. Frank you guys have gotta go back,"Linda announced.

"What- not before my birthday,"Frank protested.  
"Yes before your birthday. Its doing no good having you guys over here. I can pay for your flights and you can come back for your birthday. I'm not missing your 18th,"She gave him a small smile to which Frank said,"But- what will you guys do then?"

"We'll go to Washington. To my Mum's. We'll have to have your part-"  
"No! Mum. I dont. Want. To go,"Lily burst into the room.  
"Lily how long have you been there?"Linda rounded on her, a look of fury in her eyes.  
"The whole time..."She sighed and sat down next to Bob. Frank stared hard at her, tensing up in my lap.

"Lily. You have no choice in the matter. You have no idea how dangerous this is. And you're not a part of this meeting,"Frank growled.  
"Really? I dont? Because from what I've heard, I can tell how dangerous it is. And I bet! That what I know, you guys dont, and that should make me eligible for this meeting,"She raised an eyebrow at him smugly.

"Lily what the hell are you on about?"Frank shoved himself away from me and practically flew over to her.  
"Fuck. Careful Frankie,"I groaned and rubbed at my crotch.  
"Sorry sweetie,"Frank glanced at me apologetically before turning back to Lily where Linda was also staring at her.

"Ahh see. Not so angry with me now are you,"Lily smiled. What the fuck?  
"Oh dont get me wrong Lily, I'm fucking furious with you for keeping something from me. But right now, you seem to know a very serious fact about something and I swear to fucking god if you dont tell me I'll leave you with Claire and my mother and go over to Jersey myself,"Linda snarled. God she could be scary.

Lily glanced round at us all. We were all glaring at her.  
"I'll only tell you if you dont send me to Washington,"She mumbled.  
"LILY!"Linda screeched,"FUCKING TELL ME NOW!"  
"Mummy please dont yell,"Said a small voice from the door.  
Everyone's head snapped to the door to see Claire looking scared yet curious.

"Baby. How long have you been there?"Frank left Lily immediately and grabbed her, holding her close.  
"Only a second. Whats going on? Why's everyone shouting and angry at Lily?"Claire said over Franks shoulder.  
"Okay come on then. Lets get you some breakfast aye?"Frank sent Lily a dark look before walking out.

"Lily..."Linda sighed and fell down onto the nearest seat.  
"Cole's working with someone..."Lily muttered. I slowly stood up. I had a bad feeling about this.  
"What? How do you know? Who?"Linda groaned and rubbed her face, peering at her through her fingers. Everyone else was silent, not wanting to butt into the family business.

"Sam- mentioned his Dad's name and I thought it sounded familiar so I- I went through your things and-"  
"You went through my things?!"Linda screamed.  
"Not- only-"  
"Lily you had no fucking right! What the fuck is wrong with you?! What stuff?! Where did you find-"  
"MUM!"Lily shouted over the top of her, silencing her,"Its Malcolm Griffiths..."  
"Oh fuck no!"


	18. Run Away Run Away. I'll Attack

"Oh fuck no!"I shouted in shock.  
Everyone was looking confused except for me and Linda. She was dead white, fear spreading across her face and I was pretty sure I looked similar if not more angry.  
"I- Are you sure?"Linda said softly as Frank came running into the room.  
"Whats going on? I heard Gerard shout,"He looked round at everyone. His eyes fell on Linda's face and he dropped to his knees in front of her, taking her hands.

"Frank your- its- he- but I thought-"Linda stuttered, fanning her face.  
"Gerard whats going on?"Frank said, not taking his eyes off Linda's pale face,"Someone get her some water!"He barked. Pete shot to his feet and out of the room.  
"Malcolm Griffiths. Cole is working with Malcolm Griffiths..."I said slowly.

"I dont understand... Who is he?"Mikey piped up from on the other side of room as Pete came back in and handed Linda the water who took it and gulped it down, setting the glass on the floor next to her.  
"Malcolm is-"Linda started to say but I couldnt stop myself.  
"A fucking abusive shit eating maggot,"I spat and walked over to Linda, taking her face in my hands and looking at her seriously,"Its gonna be okay. I wont let him get to you. I'm gonna find him and I'll kill him myself."

"Will someone please tell us who the hell Malcolm is?"Frank threw his hands up in the air.  
"Your father,"Linda said weakly,"Thank you Gerard. But thats not needed. I can handle him."  
"No- Linda. I saw what he did to you. I was-"I glanced at everyone before saying in a more quiet tone,"I beat him off of you."

"You what?! Jesus christ you two. How long do you go back?"Frank snorted slightly. Good. At least he wasnt angry.  
"We met properly at the therapist. I had never seen him at school before but when he was out walking one day, this was before we were at the therapist, he was heading the same direction as me and realised Malcolm was following me so he followed to see what was gonna happen and he saved me,"Linda said matter of factly.

Frank turned to me, a look of admiration on his face. Boy that was a nice look to get from him.  
"After that we just- sort of became good friends. Then Cole started on him in school and then I got to see him more often. We grew closer with me working at the school. And then of course he fought back and made the whole school scared of him. But no... It was nice having someone close to me again,"Linda smiled. Frank's face flashed with doubt and something else for a second before being replaced with that sweet sweet look.

"Okay none of this matters because the fact is Cole is working with that fucker and he is obviously over here if he... He... Jesus fucking shit mother fucking hell..."Frank faded off.  
"What?"We all said in unison.  
"I- thats who I've been seeing. You remember yesterday? When I said I had kept seeing someone vaguely familiar. Always in the distance but always watching me? Fucking him. God,"He groaned and rubbed his face,"I cant believe Sam is his son. Shit that means he's my half brother..."

"We've gotta get you guys back to Jersey. The longer we're all here, the more risk there is for everyone back there,"Linda stood up and walked out, calling for Claire as she went.  
"We only just got here though..."Ray mumbled quietly.  
"I know. Once this is over you guys can come back here and we'll celebrate with a massive party,"Frank sighed and rubbed his face,"But for now? We've gotta get moving."

-time lapse-

"God I'm so glad you're taking over,"Frank sighed against my chest.  
"I'll be glad to give you a break,"I smiled and kissed the top of his head. It had been an hour since the weirdest meeting in existence and right now Frank and I were watching the guys put their suitcases in mine and Linda's cars.

It hadnt taken long for Linda to literally make a few calls and have our plane tickets ready. I still had to run over to mine with Frank so we could grab our shit but otherwise we were driving to Washington in an hour and flying to Jersey from there, arriving back home close to midnight. I was already stressing out about taking over but I didnt want to tell Frank cause I knew he'd just stop me from taking over.

The truth was, despite me liking being the leader and knowing that I could probably sniff Cole out easy, I was scared now. Malcolm Griffiths was a fucking scary man. He was just like in the movies with that big hulking shape and a heavy brow. Thick beard and tattoos all over him. But not nice tattoos like Frank's. Just big black scary things on his arms. Frank's had meaning to me and him. But Malcolm's were more of a 'I'm tough I've got tattoos' sort of type.

Back when I had seen him attack Linda, the only reason I had done anything was because I knew the cops would take too long. Oh dont get me wrong I had called them straight away but after two minutes he was still beating her and there had been no cops. So I had of course gone running our from behind the dumpster and into the alley to dive on him. It had worked for a moment but he had just punched my temple and had gone back to Linda.

God that had been horrible. Lying on the ground. Dizzy as I watched her face become less and less distinguishable. He had stopped to stare at her and that was when her face had fallen to the side and she'd looked at me. She looked so scared. It just made me kick my leg out and trip him over. That had been it really. As soon as he was on the ground I was up and kicking him. And then, Linda, the amazing woman, had gotten up and taken off her heel and shoved it straight through his arm.

After that he had swung his arm out and had gotten away with her heel still stuck in his arm. The fact that he had a shoe in his arm and he had still ran away, scared the living daylights out of me. I didn't want to deal with him again. He was a dangerous man and if he was working with Cole then it made things even worse. I was scared shitless and sooner or later, no matter how hard I tried to hide it, Frank would find out and send me back here.

"You okay?"Frank looked up at me, scanning my face.  
"Yeah I'm fine... I was wondering though..."I said slowly. A thought popping into my head,"When Linda said that we became good friends... You had doubt on your face... And something else... I cant figure it out though..."

"Oh... Uh... I uh... Hmm,"Frank looked away from me.  
"What?"I moved away from him so I could look at his face. He was blushing and looking ashamed,"Frankie what is it?"  
"I- well when Mum said you guys got close or whatever the- the first thought that crossed my head was you guys had- you know..."He blushed even more.

"Wait wait wait you mean you think me and your Mum-"I stared as he somehow managed to go an even brighter shade of red and look away,"Dude! No! No way oh my god!"  
"I'm sorry okay! I- It was just for a second stop looking at me like that- jesus man,"Frank stumbled away from me slightly.

"Frank thats- thats just wrong! I mean- not that- not that I wouldnt-"I started to say before back tracking,"Not that I've thought about it! I just- uh- fuck. Lets just-"  
"Forget this ever happened?"Frank smiled at me through his hair.  
"Sounds good,"I nodded eagerly, certain I was as red as Frank now if not redder.

"You boys got your stuff?"Linda called from her car.  
"Oh fuck. No, We'll get it for you now,"I snorted as Frank burst into giggles next to me. Linda gave us a look before going back in the house.  
"Come on dork. Lets go get our shit,"Frank sniggered and grabbed my hand, tugging me towards his car.


	19. I /Can/ Get Satisfaction

"Gerard. Its day time. We're both here. Mum's at the house. There isnt a bomb planted inside your apartment. Now come on,"Frank sighed and pulled me through the door out of the stairwell. I was freaking out. It was just as quiet as in my dream and I couldnt stop the panic from coursing through me.

"But what if the girl is there?"I whispered as he dragged me down the hallway towards my place.  
"She wont be. Come on, Mum is waiting,"Frank sighed again, heavier this time, and let go of my hand to walk away from me and unlock my door.

"Frank wait!"I shouted. I raced after him as he was about to take a step inside, reaching him just in time to grab the back of his shirt and stop him from going inside.  
"Gerard. It's fine. The place isnt trashed. There is no line to trigger a bomb. This place is just how we left it,"Frank took my hand again, holding it firmly as he pulled me inside.

The place really as how we left it. Glasses of coke still on the bench. The phone sitting on the coffee table looking innocent. But I knew how evil it was. It didnt fool me.  
"Come on. You grab our clothes. I dont have much here anyway. I'll grab my toothbrush,"Frank said and walked into the bathroom.

I glanced around once more before shutting the door and rushing into my bedroom.  
"Hey Gerard do you think we should get rid of the food in the fridge?!"Frank called.  
"Probably. I mean we wont be back for a while so I guess yeah,"I replied as I tugged my suitcase out of the closet. I froze at a knock on the door.

I looked out the door to see Frank going to answer it,"No Frank dont-"  
"Whatever,"He waved a hand over his shoulder at me and opened the door,"Chloe! Hey! Good to see you're all better."  
"Thanks Frank! How are you?"Chloe said happily as she walked in and sat down.

"I'm good. Gerard's here. We're just grabbing some things before we go back to Mum's,"Frank smiled and shut the door.  
"Going for lunch?"She asked as I sat down next to her.  
"Something like that yeah,"I smiled.

"So guess what. Someone definitely drugged me that night,"Chloe grabbed my hands and looked at me seriously.  
"Shit. How do you know?"I gasped. Frank didnt seem interested at all and went to the kitchen to make drinks.

"I went to the coffee shop and asked to look at the security footage and while they were making the drinks that Brad bought someone came in and started arguing with the person making the drinks while someone else working there slipped the roofies in. I'm telling you, somebody didnt like us,"Chloe sat back like it all made sense. Which it didnt.

"Hmm..."I sat back as a memory occurred to me of when I first saw Chloe after Jim had died.  
"Gerard why arent you more interest?"Chloe grabbed my hands,"Someone drugged me."  
"No I- it just doesnt make sense though..."  
"Ugh I know right? Why would someone want to drug me?"She rolled her eyes.

"No no... Not that... Well yes that but also... When- when I first saw you after you got out the hospital... You said Jim came home drunk and off his meds, hallucinating that you and Brad were in bed..."I said slowly. Putting two and two together...  
"Uh- yeah..."Chloe shuffled her butt a bit, moving away from me and letting go of my hands.

"But when you me you thought you had gotten drugged... You said you didnt know anything from just after you and Brad started drinking til the hospital... Now that,"I smiled widely at her,"That doesnt make sense."  
"Uh Gerard I can explain uh fuck,"Chloe stuck her hands in her bag and started playing with something.

Where the fuck was Frank? I glanced over her shoulder to see him watching us warily from the kitchen.  
"Can you explain?"I asked calmly.  
"Uh I- fuck this is embarrassing... I have a lying disorder..."She looked down, blushing to the extreme. What?

"You- you have a what?"Frank blurted out.  
"A compulsive lying disorder... I'm seeing a therapist for it but it doesnt seem to be doing any good,"She said glumly.  
"Oh Chloe,"I said sadly.

"Dont. Dont say you're sorry or anything like that. I hate it. I'm just- I'm just gonna go.. You guys have gotta get back to your Mum's anyway,"Chloe mumbled and stood up, pulling her scarf out of her bag and wrapping it around her neck,"I'm sorry Gerard."

"No its fine. Dont worry about it. We all have our problems,"I smiled and put both hands behind my back to rearrange the cushion behind me.  
"You know. Whenever I tell someone... I always feel like a loser. But you? You make me feel like a winner. I feel like I've won,"She grinned at me. I chuckled slightly, my eyes falling down to her scarf. It was a gorgeously bright red one with sparkles all over it.

Chloe started to walk out, saying her goodbyes when it fucking hit me like a brick in the face.  
"Wait!"I screeched and stood up.  
"What?"She turned around and looked at me.  
"Can I see your scarf?"I held my hand out.

"Uh- sure..."She pulled it off slowly, looking at me weirdly, and handed it to me.  
"This is nice. Frank? Get your gun,"I said and hooked it around Chloe, spinning her around so she couldnt stop me.  
"Gerard what the fuck?!"She screeched, struggling to get away from me.

"Shut the fuck up right now,"I growled in her ear. She stopped struggling as Frank arrived next to me, a loaded pistol in his hands aimed at Chloe.  
"Help me. Grab some more rope or something,"I said as I pulled her backwards.

Next thing I knew Frank had a chair for me and I was shoving Chloe into it so we could tie her to it.  
"So why did you lie to me about the drugs or whatever?"I puuffed once she was secure.  
"I'm gonna call Mum,"Frank pulled his phone out, setting the gun down next to me,"I'll just be outside."  
"Be careful."  
"Gerard its fine. We've got the traitorous bitch,"Frank smiled.

I nodded and picked up the gun, making sure it was loaded before aiming it at Chloe,"Talk. Now."  
"Like hell,"She glared. I nodded and pointed the gun at her foot. Then I shot her. I actually shot her in the foot. It freaked me out that I had done it so easily. I barely had time to register the shock that ran through me because immediately Chloe was screaming.

"Cole- he. Fuck that burns oh my god you disgusting faggot!"She screeched,"Okay. Cole wanted me to split you and Frank up. He said you guys were vulnerable on your own. He wanted me to distract you with thoughts that somebody was watching you by and Frank of course would be so distracted with his 'well earned' promotion that he would say you were being stupid thus distancing you guys. Along with him having to bake all the time. It almost worked if it werent for the fact that your stupid fucking brother was overheard talking about coming here so Cole just had to call you and fucking ruin it. Then I got stuck here waiting for them to get here so I could eavesdrop but of course you had to be pretending to be asleep so I had no idea what happened! Fuck. Cole's mad at me now,"She breathed heavily.

I glanced at her foot to see she was barely bleeding. I had gottent he edge of her foot.  
"Right. What the hell is Cole working with Malcolm Griffiths for?"I asked.  
"Ha. You think he's working with him? No no no. Try working for him,"She grinned as a loud thump sounded from outside,"That should me him now actually."

"Frankie?!"I shouted. I sped to the door, ripping it open and look down the hallway,"Frankie where are you?!"  
"Fuck you,"I heard Frank spit. I dashed down to where it came from and skidded round the corner to find Frank backing away from- Malcolm.

"Franklin. I'm your father. I'm blood. I'm family. You wouldnt turn on that now would you? You're so big since I last saw you in your mothers arms on the street,"He drawled, twisting the bat in his hand.  
"You. Are not. My father,"Frank breathed.  
Malcolm smashed his fist into the wall, leaving a hole next to the first one,"I fucking am boy. And no son of mine is gonna be a dick sucking faggot now get-"

"Dont you talk to him like that you fucker,"I growled and raised the gun as Malcolm turned around to look at me with disgust.  
"Well well well. If it isnt Gerard Way. Man have I wanted to get my hands on you,"Malcolm grinned at me, showing off a gold tooth gleaming even in the dim lighting of the corridor.

"Are you gonna apologise to him?"I took a few steps closer.  
"What? To him? That little piece of shit for a son? No. Its you who needs to be saying sorry to me. That bitch took my son away from me. When I finally got the chance to make her pay, you go and attack me! "He snarled, marching over to me.

"I'm beginning to wish I hadnt stopped. Frank get here now,"I said, never taking my eyes off of him.  
"Dont you move Franklin. You do as your father says,"Malcolm leant against the wall and looked from me to Frank walking towards me.

"Frank its okay. He wont hurt you. He isnt allowed to,"I smiled at Malcolm,"Arent you?"  
"What makes you think that? I can do whatever the fuck I want,"Malcolm laughed a dry hollow laugh full of anger.  
"If thats the case why havent you done anything then? Why dont you have a weapon? Or do you still prefer to use your fists?"I smiled even wider as Frank walked past him safely.

"You little shit!"Malcolm growled and lunged at me.  
"Malcolm! Dont!"Chloe shouted from the apartment. He froze, his hands dropping back into his pockets.  
"Thought so,"I stepped in front of Frank,"Why dont we all go and have a chat? Hmm?"I started moving back towards the apartment door.

"Malcolm you're a fucking idiot. You've fucked up more than I have,"Chloe shuddered as we walked in.  
"Dont talk to me that way girly. You're the one Cole is pissed off with. Not me,"Malcolm growled and sat down in the arm chair.  
"When he finds out that you couldnt stop yourself from seeing Frank he will be. You fucked up more than I have,"Chloe laughed at him as Frank and I stared.

"What do you think we should do?"I sighed as they started quarreling over who had fucked up more.  
"I told Linda what was happening when He showed up so she heard him. She probably sent one of the guys over here,"Frank mumbled,"Why hasnt he tried to untie her if they're on the same side?"Malcolm was staring moodily at the floor as Chloe rambled on about how hard its been for her pretending to be friends with a bunch of fags.

"Dunno... Maybe he doesnt give a shit about her?"I suggested quietly as they stopped yelling and stared moodily at the ground.  
"Who cares. He isnt untying her so thats all that matters. What does matter is what we're gonna do now?"Frank took a step closer.

"I aint untying her because Cole said for me not to interfere with anything he is doing over here. All I was allowed to do was watch. And wait,"Malcolm said moodily.  
"Wait? Wait for what?"  
For my prize. I get a prize once this is over if I help him,"Malcolm stood up and smiled at us.

"Well I dont think you'll be getting that now that you've interferred,"Chloe breathed,"Hey, maybe now that you've already interefered you could do it again and untie me? I'm sort of bleeding right now."  
"Nope. Dont want to jeapordaise my chances,"Malcolm said airily as he strolled out past us.

"No- wait- dammit,"Frank sighed as Malcolm started running down the corridor and out of sight.  
"Well what are we gonna do with her?"I sat down and looked at Chloe's pale face.  
"I dunno..."Frank sat down next to me and stared at her as well. She didnt look good.

"I know. Chloe wheres your phone?"I stood up and looked around for her bag. It was sitting against the couch so I grabbed it and started rooting around.  
"What are you doing?"Frank asked.  
"We're gonna get her to call Cole. Tell him that she heard us having a massive argument and that you're going to Washington with your family for your birthday and the guys are going back to Jersey while I stay here being depressed and lost,"I smiled cheerfully as I pulled her phone out.

"I aint saying shit,"She snickered and shook her hair out of her face.  
"Really? I beg to differ,"I sighed. I walked over to her and aimed the gun at her other foot, pulling the trigger without a second thought.  
"Mother fucker!"Chloe screeched, throwing her head back violently. I looked down to see I had actually gotten the side of her ankle.

"Call him,"Frank sighed and went into the bathroom. I scrolled through her contacts and found Cole's name so I called him.  
"Here. You know what you're saying?"I held the phone to her ear as it started ringing. She nodded and took a deep breath.

"Cole hey. Listen. Frank and Gerard just had a massive argument. It was so loud I heard the whole thing. Gerard was complaining that Frank was hogging the guys, Mikey in particular, and then it turned into a huge argument about them not having time for each other and how he thiunks Frank is cheating on him!... I know. Can you believe that? So anyway, Frank's going to Washington with his family, the guys are going back to Jersey and Gerard is gonna be here all by himself,"Chloe gushed. She was good at acting.

"You want me to what? But- but thats gross! Oh- ohhh. Okay,"Chloe glared up at me as Cole talked,"Okay then. Alright. I'll call you tomorrow morning then if all goes to plan. Which it should... Bye."  
"Whats happening?"I snapped her phone shut and threw it over my shoulder.  
"Hey! That cost money dick,"She growled.

"I'll smash it if you dont tell me,"I grumbled and fell down into my seat as Frank came over with two coffees,"Thanks Pumpkin."  
"He said that thats fantastic and now he wants me to get you really drunk and to sleep with you,"She sighed.  
"Great. You're calling him in the morning telling him that then,"I smiled,"Boy it really does pay to have you around.

She glared at me before taking a deep breath,"So what do we do now? Are you gonna keep me tied up here or something?"  
"Well, Frank, the guys and I are actually going back Jersey tonight. Guess you'll have to come with us. Frank do you wanna call Linda and tell her we need another plane ticket?"I smiled at him, satisfied with how this was ending.


	20. Nothing Is Better Than Maccas For Lunch

Frank's POV

"Mikey, so good to finally meet you! Gerard's told me lots about you!"Chloe gushed as we dragged her into the house through the back door.  
Mikey blinked at her before saying,"Dont talk to me bitch,"Then stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

I couldnt help but snort as I let her drop to the floor and leaned against the table. She stayed sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily as Mum walked in and stared down at her. It was getting close to lunchtime and had to get a later flight now. Amongst all the stress of packing everything, I couldnt help but feel sad that I was leaving my car here. And Gerard's. We would have to rely on Ray's new car he had gotten for his birthday.

"Chloe I have a question for you,"Gerard sighed and sat down at the table, staring hard at her.  
"What?"She snapped.  
"Jim. Explain. What actually happened that night?"  
"What are you on about? He- didnt take his medication..."Chloe moved herself to a sitting position against the door to the garden.

"Bullshit. Tell me. Now. Unless you want another- Claire! Hey!"Gerard stopped mid-sentence as Claire skipped into the room, complaining that she was hungry.  
"Claire why dont you go-"  
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!"Claire gasped and rushed over to Chloe.

"Claire stay away from her. She's a bad person,"Mum scooped her up and moved away from Chloe.  
"Why is she bad?"Claire asked.  
"She-"  
"She tried to kill me,"I spoke up. I reached over and took Claire, sitting her on my hip and looking at her seriously.

"Uh Frank I dont think you should be telling her this..."Mum said slowly.  
"Its fine. See Claire, there are lots of bad people here and back at the house in New Jersey that dont like Gerard and me being together and they dont like any guys being together."  
"But why? Does it hurt them when you guys kiss?"Claire asked me very seriously.

I snorted slightly,"No sweetie. They're just very mean people that want to kill all of us. Thats why you Mummy and Lily are gonna go to Grandma's house while Gerard's friends and I all go back to New Jersey to tell the police about them..."  
"Whats happening with her? We should call the police now!"Claire smiled and clapped her hands. Jesus. She was taking this better than I thought.

"They wont believe us here. We have to take her to Jersey because thats where the rest of the people are so if we can get them all then the police will believe us,"I glanced at Gerard's glorious face filled with love and amusement before walking out of the dining room/kitchen and into the lounge.

"We should kill her,"Claire giggled as I sat her down on the couch.  
"No. We wont be doing that. Otherwise that would make us as bad as her,"I smiled,"What do you want for lunch aye kiddo?"  
"Spaghetti! Spaghetti! Spaghetti!"She clapped her hands, bouncing in her seat.  
"Alrighty then. You stay here and I'll go get some for us both. Then we can eat it while we watch Spongebob. That sound good?"I grinned. She nodded eagerly so I went back into the kitchen.

"Whats going on?"I asked. Gerard was looking sick and Mum was holding Chloe's collar, their noses almost touching as she stared that scary Mum stare that always made Lily freak out.  
"She fucking- she- she killed Jim,"Gerard uttered out. He stood up and rushed at me, falling onto me and sobbing.

"Gerard sweetie whats wrong?"  
"She- its her fault. Its all her I dont know how she did it but its her fault,"He cried.  
"Gerard I dont understand whats her fault? Do what?"I pushed him back slightly to look at his face as Chloe started laughing a low cackle that gave me chills.

"Shut it,"Mum snapped and slapped her, letting her drop back down to the floor to come over here,"She infected him. I- I dont know what they did but she did it to Jim as well. Thats why Gerard was hallucinating. Because whatever the fuck it was that she gave him, made it happen."

The words didnt make sense. Gerard was sick? Because of what Chloe gave to him? And she also gave it to Jim. Who didnt get his medication and went nuts...  
"She planned it... It was part of the whole plan. To split me and Gerard up she wanted to make him worry that he was sick as well. I would have told him he was being stupid... Oh my god... You bitch!"

Chloe started laughing again,"You know the best part?"She giggled insanely,"We have an antidote and you're never gonna get it! Ha!"  
I glared at her before pulling Gerard out of the kitchen and into the lounge,"Hey Claire? You wanna look after Gerard while I make us all some lunch?"I asked as I slowly sat him down next to her.

"No Frankie. Stay with me please,"He whispered, clinging to my clothes.  
"Uh okay sweetie. I'll stay,"I sighed and sat down next to him. He let himself fall down, his head landing in my lap softly.

"Claire do you wanna go and tell Mummy that you want some spaghetti for lunch?"I looked over to where she was tracing the patterns on the couch. She nodded without looking at me before sliding off of the couch and running into the kitchen.  
"I dont- I dont wanna eat,"Gerard mumbled against my thigh.

"Gerard you should eat something,"I said quietly, stroking his soft hair.  
"I know just not right now. Please Frank I just wanna sleep until we go,"He sighed heavily.  
"Nope. No sleeping. Sorry Gerard but we're going now,"Mum walked in with a pissed off looking Claire in her arms.

"I want lunch first though,"She whined.  
"Claire. Be quiet. We can get McDonalds on our way. You can get a happy meal okay?"Mum sighed and put her down.  
"Okay Mummy,"She smiled.  
"But you have to be as quiet as possible okay? Because Mummy has a headache and Gerard is upset right now."

"Gerard whats wrong?"Claire knelt down in front of him, looking at him sadly.  
"Claire leave him,"I nudged her with my foot.  
"No no its okay,"Gerard patted my shin before pushing himself up,"I just dont like the girl in the kitchen very much right now."  
"Oh... Cheer up Gerard. We're getting McDonalds for lunch!"


	21. There's Something About Nana Kat

Gerard's POV

"Cant believe I'm actually in Washington..."Pete grinned at me in the rear view mirror,"Lets go see the president!"  
"Yeah I dont think we can do that,"I smiled as Frank followed Linda around a corner onto a Stepford suburbia area.

The drive had taken what felt like forever. I had slept through most of it but now that we were a minute away from Linda's Mum's house I was wide awake and was desperate for a piss. We were in Frank's car and I was already missing my car, knowing that I wasnt gonna see it again until we go back for Frank's birthday in a week and a bit.

Linda pulled into a wide driveway up ahead so Frank pulled up alongside the gutter.  
"Fuck I'm desperate to pee,"Frank muttered as he turned the car off and we all undid our seatbelts.  
"I'm going first!"Mikey shouted as he fought Pete to get out first. I got out and watched as they tumbled out next to me, giggling about 3 nights ago.

"Alright guys come on, get up and lets go inside,"Linda called,"You have to leave soon for your flights."  
"Fuck I just wanna sleep,"I moaned as we all trudged towards the front door.  
"I know. Me too. At least you havent been driving,"Frank sighed.

A good half hour later Linda had settled Lily and Claire who were upstairs unpacking, and we were all sitting in the lounge having a coffee before we went to the airport. Linda's Mum was not what I imagined. The way Linda had described her, she had made her sound like one of those sweet quite little old ladies that could barely see. The ones who put out a plate of biscuits and some tea when she had guests.

Instead, we found that Linda's Mum, Kat, was the most awesomely hardcore, tough and batshit crazy old woman ever. When we had walked in, Linda had given her a hug and then introduced us. Kat had seemed quite sweet as she scolded Linda for not calling her often enough. Then Pete had strollen forward to shake her hand and she had started laughing at him, told him to 'calm the fuck down' and had walked into the lounge shouting about how gorgeous Lily and Claire were.

Linda had locked an unconscious Chloe in the car with the window cracked. Right now her Mum was telling us a story of how she stole a gun from someone who was about to mug her. I couldnt figure out if she was joking or not. She was funny and just- just awesome.  
"So anyway, he was standing there with this gun against my head shouting at me to give him my money. Now, back in those days, I was always made to earn my own money. I wasn't a spoilt brat like this one here,"She nodded to Linda,"I was very-"

"I'm not a spoilt brat. You and Dad made me do chores all the time,"She smiled, slapping her leg playfully.  
"Oh quit complaining,"Kat swatted her away and crossed her legs,"Now. As I was saying. He asked me for my money with the gun in my face and I told him to get fucked. He was so shocked that a ten year old had said that to him that I was able to grab the gun out of his hands and point it at him, asking him for his money. Naturally he freaked out and ran away, leaving me with my first gun ever."

"First?"Bob looked at her.  
Linda wriggled in her seat, shooting a furtive glance at Kat as she said,"Yup. My first. I've still got it if you boys want to see,"She started to get up.  
"No- no thats fine I uh- I think the boys need to get-"

"Mummy! Nanna has a big room full of guns!"Claire screeched as she ran into the room holding a pistol or something.  
"Jesus christ! Claire stop running!"Frank jumped to his feet as Claire skidded to a halt, almost falling onto the coffee table.

"Claire gimme the gun,"Kat stood up and reached over for it. Claire reluctantly let go and sat down on the floor looking glum.  
"Thats a toy for another day my girl,"Kat smiled and flicked it open and took the shots out.  
"No way. Mum. I told you on the phone that I- Claire do you want to go see if Lily needs help unpacling?"Linda sighed.

"Okay Mummy,"Claire smiled and went running out of the room again.  
Everyone stayed quiet as Linda looked at Kat angrily and said,"I told you on the phone that I dont want them having anything to do with this. If I had it my way none of these boys would be. Lily already knows whats going on and I'll be damned if Claire is gonna find out. She is only 5."

I cleared my throat and nudged Frank. He looked at me and nodded, somehow reading my mind,"So uh Kat."  
"Oh please Frankie. Call me Nanna,"She smiled and stood up.  
"Um. Nanna... Why do you have a gun room?"Frank ignored the look from Linda and waited.

Kat looked at Linda who shook her head, before shrugging and looking at Frank,"Your mother doesnt want me to to tell you but I'm going to. Dont think I dont know what you've been doing. Leading this fight from San Diego. Batshit crazy you are,"She started giggling as she walked into the kitchen.

"Um..."  
"Frank please just- dont,"Linda groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose,"There isnt time anyway. We need to get you boys to the airport before you miss your flight."  
"Nonsense! They can go tomorrow. I'll move their flights forward. Let them stay a night. They've been in the car all day,"Kat said as she came out with a tray full of more coffee,"You dont want them driving all day then going on a flight overnight then trying to fit back into Jersey straight away do you? They'll drop dead girl!"

"Mum. We're leaving. Boys go get in the car,"Linda glared at Kat, not looking away for a second,"I'd like to have a serious talk to you when I get back. Okay,"Kat nodded and opened her mouth to say something but Linda stopped her,"Nope. Quiet until I get back."

"Bye Nanna,"Frank sighed and leant down for a hug,"It was nice meeting you for once."  
"You too love. You better be back here for your birthday. Last time I saw you was your 1st birthday. Chubby little thing you were,"Kat chuckled.  
"Frank. Chubby. I find that hard to imagine,"I smiled as we all started walking out.

"Hold on I need to say bye to Claire and Lily!"Frank shouted suddenly, stopping walking and making me walk into him. I moved to the side to let him go back but he looked at me and said,"You should say goodbye to Claire as well."  
I nodded and followed him back through the lounge and up the stairs.

"Claire?"Frank called.  
"Frank?"Claire replied in a simliar tone.  
"Where are you kiddo? I'm leaving,"Frank strolled down the hallway, peering into every room. He stopped at one and whispered,"Jackpot."

I rushed down to him and looked inside,"Holy shit."  
All along the walls were all sorts of different guns. In the middle was a huge box full of different compartments filled with ammo.  
"What the fuck..."Frank breathed out and walked in properly. He twirled around and looked at it all with a whistle as Claire came in.

"Isnt it awesome,"Claire giggled.  
"Uh- its like the ammo warehouse in Farcry 2,"I smiled and picked Claire up before she could grab a gun.  
"I wanna shoot one. Can I shoot one Frankie?"She asked, making grabby hands for Frank.

"I dont think so Claire,"Frank took her from me and walked out,"You'll have to ask Mum and Nanna. You wanna show me your new room then?"  
"Frank! Gerard! Hurry the fuck up! I can only move your flight so many times you know!"Linda shouted from downstairs.

"We'll be down in a minute!"Frank rolled his eyes at me and followed Claires pointed finger. I walked after them and into Claires bright pink room.  
"Look at the toys Frank,"Claire slipped out of his arms and jumped up onto the bed.

"Goodness arent you a lucky girl!"Frank smiled and sat down next to her.  
"Will you be back in time for dinner tonight Frankie?"Claire asked as she started setting up her soft toys on her bed.  
"Uh... Claire. I wont be back until my birthday. Remember? I have to go stop the people that want to kill me and Gerard,"Frank said softly.

"How long is it until your birthday?"She looked up at Frank, tears forming in her eyes.  
"Just over a week. So its not that long,"Frank smiled at her sadly.  
"And then you'll stay with us for good?"She nodded at him.  
"Um no sweetie. I might have to go back and make sure its all fine,"Frank sniffed. He was crying now.

I pushed away from the doorway and sat down on Claires other side,"It'll be okay though because I'm gonna make sure he comes back and visits you whenever he can and we'll be back for christmas and your birthday so you dont need to worry at all okay?"  
"But I- I dont w-want you to g-go,"Claire sobbed and grabbed onto Frank, crying into his side.

"Frank! Gerard! Come on!"Linda yelled.  
"We've got a bit of a situation up here!"I shouted back,"Claire doesnt want Frank to go!"  
"Hold on I'm coming,"She grumbled loudly and started stomping up the stairs. I moved out of the way as Linda walked into the room.

Claire wailed even louder as Frank tried to stand up,"I dont want you to go!"  
"Claire sweetie I dont want to go either but I have to okay? Claire please dont make this any harder,"Frank cried.  
"Claire? Do you wanna come with us to the airport?"Linda asked quietly.  
Claire stopped crying and looked at Linda,"Mmm hmm,"She sniffed.

"Right come on then. Frank just has to say goodbye to Lily and then we'll get going okay?"Linda picked Claire up and rushed her out of the room.  
"God this is gonna be hard,"Frank sighed. He fell into my side as we walked out and into the next room where Lily was makign a racket.

"What the hell are you doing?"Frank looked at her. She was standing on the window ledge slapping the roof with a shoe.  
"Killing a spider. He was fucking gross,"Lily panted and jumped down onto the floor.  
"Oh. Good. Dont want them in here,"Frank muttered.

We stayed silent for a moment. Lily leaning awkwardly against the wall while we stood in the doorway.  
"Frank I-"  
"I'm sorry for shouting at you so much and getting so angry with you,"Frank cut over her.  
"Frank you dont need to be sorry. I;ve been such a bitch to everyone. I- You have no idea how bad I feel for the things I said..."Lily looked down at her feet, picking at her nails.

Frank strode forward and hugged her.  
"I didnt mean anything I said Frank. I know its not your fault for anything. Its Cole's And now you're gonna go over there and you guys are gonna kill him. So its all gonna be okay,"Lily whispered.  
"I just worry about you so much,"Frank said quietly,"I know you didnt mean anything you said. But I meant what I said when I told you that you cant be a part of this."

"Frank I-"  
"Lily. Its something you have to deal with. Maybe you can help from here but I dont want you in Jersey and I dont want you knowing anything important enough for the dickheads to care about.  
"I know. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. I want you alive for your 18th you know"She pulled away and smiled at him.

"Frank we have to go,"I said quietly. Frank nodded at me then joined my side.  
"You take care of him Gerard,"Lily hugged the breath out of me suddenly.  
"I intend to. Dont you worry about that,"I smiled.

Frank gave her one last hug, tears falling down his cheeks, and then we were going downstairs to find a very pissed off looking Linda standing outside the front door.  
"Sorry Mum. I sorted everything with Lily though,"Frank smiled and dragged me to his car.

"Claire wants to go in your car,"Linda smiled back and got in her car.  
"Gerard can you drive then?"Frank asked as we walked to the car. Claire was sitting in the backseat looking sad and Bob was in the front seat patiently waiting.

"Yeah yeah no problem,"I smiled and caught the keys from him before getting in the car.  
"You guys took your time,"Bob grumbled.  
"Fuck off,"I muttered and started the car,"Everyone buckled in?"  
"Yup. Lets get going,"Frank said.


	22. "Renovations"

Frank's POV

"I kinda thought the place would look different... Like in a war movie,"Gerard said slowly as we walked.  
"Seriously?"I looked up at him,"You know this is an underground war right?"  
"No I know I just I dunno... I thought it would look a little more battle worn..."Gerard blushed.

"Sorry to disappoint you bro but both sides are completely clean with most things,"I sighed. Leaving had been one of the worst things ever. Claire had completely broken down and had started screaming about wanting to kill the bad guys herself and that she wanted to come with me. Mum had had to pull her away from me and leave. Gerard had done his best to make me feel better but the fact was, I wasnt gonna see Claire for over a week and that was killing me. I could hardly bare to imagine what it would be like when I came back after my birthday.

Gerard and I were taking a walk around, trying to get a little bit of alone time before we went into war mode. The guys were taking Chloe to some secure place and then they were all going back to their posts to try take control of something. I hadnt wanted to know just how bad we were doing just yet.  
"We should go see Di,"Gerard sighed as we crossed Baton Road.  
"Come on then,"I smiled and tugged him down.

After 5 minutes of walking Gerard and I were outside The Magic Bean staring at the 'closed for renovations' sign on the door. The posters on the windows were gone and instead they were just completely blacked out.  
"Ummm..."Gerard said.

"I dont have her number anymore uh... Do you have it?"I looked at Gerard who looked just as confused as me.  
"No. The guys have been keeping in- wait. Did you here that?"Gerard turned and put his ear up against the door.

"What?"I waited.  
"I heard a shout and now I can hear talking,"Gerard said. He tried the door but it was locked. A heap of scuffling sounded inside and then a low voice said,"Who is it?"Through the door  
"Its Frank and Gerard,"Gerard replied equally as quiet.

The click of the locks sounded and the door opened to a grinning Di. She squealed when she saw us and grabbed Gerard, holding him tightly.  
"I cant believe you guys are here!"She gasped. She let go of Gerard and squeezed the breath out of me before letting go and glancing over our shoulders.

"Come on inside. Now. Its not safe to be standing around like that,"She said quietly again, seemingly over her excitement, and yanked us inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She locked the door on 4 different locks and turned to face us.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"She grinned and lead us over to a table where Dewees was sitting along with-  
"Steven?"Gerard said as he clocked eyes on him.  
"In the flesh buddy. How're you guys doing?"Steven stood up and gave us a warm smile, his eyes twinkling. He looked older. All of his hair had been cut short and it was all grey now. He had a thick bristly mustache now and his face was a heck of a lot more lined.

"We're good good. How are you?"I replied as he embraced me in a hug.  
"Oh you know. Surviving,"He chuckled and gave Gerard a hug before sitting back down. It was then that I saw Gerard notice the guns sitting quietly in their holster on the hips of all three of our friends.

"What uh whats going on then?"Gerard asked, warily eyeing the guns as he pulled up two chairs for us. Di pushed a piece of paper over to us in answer. I grabbed it before Gerard could and scanned the paper before shoving it at Gerard with a look of disgust.

"I dont understand. What are all these numbers?"Gerard looked at the paper in confusion. He looked up to me for answers but I just shook my head, too annoyed over what the numbers meant.  
"The first column of numbers is our losses. Then the second is our gains and the next two are the same for Cole,"Di sighed.

"Wait so- we've lost almost 20 guys? And our- guns are going missing? Jesus we arent doing very well are we?"Gerard sighed. His eyes moved to Cole's side and he just stared,"There are barely any numbers... Why?"

"Because we dont know. Our spy is missing. He only managed to tell us about those before there was a loud smack and someone said we need to find him before its too late. That was yesterday,"Dewees muttered,"I need a drink. Anyone else?"  
"Whiskey please,"Di mumbled and put her head on the table.  
"Whiskey it is. Steven? Frank? Gerard?"Dewees looked to us all but went behind the counter when we all shook our heads.

"What were you guys shouting about? Before. I heard you someone shouting,"Gerard asked carefully.  
"I want to stage a man hunt and find Dylan before its too late but they think it is too late and that they've killed him by now. But I know that if they had killed him they would have made it known. They dont do things like that quietly,"Di glared at Steven.

"Diane, we havent heard from them at all. He's dead and you know it,"Steven gave her a pointed stare before turning in his seat to yell at Dewees,"I'll have a vodka."  
"How can you be so pessimistic?!"Di screeched, standing up and sending her chair flying backwards,"It hasnt even been 24 fucking hours! If anything they'll be torturing information out of him! Not dumping his body!"

Steven opened his mouth to retaliate but snapped it shut, pulled his phone out and started typing furiously.  
"Exactly,"Di said smugly. Dewees came back over and thumped down three drinks.  
"I've come round to a rescue mission,"Dewees said.  
"Thank you!"Di threw her hands up in the air before grabbing her drink and sculling it.

I had thought Gerard was listening but now I couldnt tell. He was staring at the table top, deep in thought.  
"What is that?"He said suddenly, pointing to 4 words I hadnt noticed across the top of the page of statistics.

"What? Oh that. Thats our name,"Dewees smiled.  
"Name?"I raised my eyebrows at him and pulled the page over to read it,"Black Dragon Fighting Society,"I said out loud.  
"Adam came up with it..."Di muttered, picking at her nails moodily.

"How? Where did Black Dragon Fighting Society even come from?"Gerard looked round at them all.  
"You'll have to ask Adam. He is the one in charge of all this shit,"Steven gestured to the papers spread out over the table.  
"And where do I find Adam?"Gerard stood up.

Dewees choked on his drink, almost spitting it all over the table. Once he had swallowed his drink he spluttered,"Find Adam?"  
Steven sniggered,"No one knows where he is now. Last time anyone saw him was about two weeks ago. When he heard about what was going on he came to us with his number and said he was going into hiding but to give him any information about anything and he'd do all this for us. We were sort of desperate so we had to trust him."

"Right... Well then can I call him?"Gerard looked at them like they were stupid.  
"Not if you talk to us like that,"Dewees glared at him.  
"Sorry I just need to know these things. I need contacts, storage places, everything. If I'm gonna find Cole and kill him I need to know everything I can about this fight,"Gerard shrugged his shoulders.

"Wait wait wait,"Di stepped forward and looked at me,"Frank are you letting him take over?"  
"Uh- yeah. Everyone I've talked to about it has agreed that Gerard would be better and I think so too,"I felt myself fill with confusion at her look of frustration,"What? Whats wrong with that?"  
“Gerard, not that I underestimate your ability to lead, but sweetie,”Di looked at me again,”Do you have any idea how long its gonna take to tell him everything?”

“Yes as a matter of fact I do. And, while I’m still in charge right now,”I stood up and looked at them all one by one,”I’ve decided that we’re gonna be half way done by tonight at which point I’ll hold a meeting and then by lunchtime tomorrow, Gerard had better know everything he needs to and will be fully in charge. Got it?”I smiled sweetly at them.

“Frank! Thats fucking insane!”Steven shouted as I turned and winked at Gerard. Dewees murmured in agreement. For fucks sake it wasnt that hard of a task. And I wasnt even asking just them to do it.  
“Steven!”I spun around and pinned him with a glare,”Do you not understand? Ten fucking innocent people not involved in this shit died yesterday! How can you care so little about the fucking fatalities?!”

He didnt say anything but at least he had the good grace to hang his head in shame.  
“Gerard is going to be fully up to date by lunchtime tomorrow. Get the word out that there is gonna be a meeting at the base at 9 sharp tonight as well please,”I sighed and tugged Gerard towards the door.

“Frank I always knew you were a bit harsh from the way Mikey has relayed phone calls to us. But I never knew you could be this vicious in person,”Di said quietly. I stiffened at the words but continued walking silently. As we walked Gerard looked back to probably mouth ‘sorry’ at them but I couldnt even care. I just wanted out.

“Frank...?”Gerard said slowly as we walked down the street.  
“What?”I sighed. I did not want a lecture on my general mode. I hated it just as much as the others did but it was usually the only way to stop them complaining about some things they had to do.  
“You should totally talk to me like that some time. Preferably when we’re alone...”

I looked up at him and couldnt stop myself from grinning,”You like it when I go into general mode?”I asked hopefully.  
“It has a name?”He grinned back, a mischeivous twinkle in his eye.  
I looked down at my worn out black chucks,”Everyone hates it. Not many people see it but when they do they either get scared of me or angry with me.”

Gerard stopped me walking and pulled me close to him. We were standing outside a shop that sold replacement crap for losing weight or whatever. The air around us was freezing now that we had stopped moving but the next words that came out of Gerard’s mouth pulled my attention away from the weather and completely made my day.

“I think its ridiculously sexy... And cute,”He smiled down at me, his cheeks turning redder than they already were from the cold.  
“You’re probably the only one,”I grabbed his jacket and pulled him against me.  
“Mmm maybe you should do it just for me then,”Gerard said in a low voice as placed his hands on my hips and brought his lips closer to mine.

“I’d do anything for you,”I whispered and crushed my mouth against his quickly. I pulled away,”But not right now cause its fucking freezing and I wanna check out the school.”  
“Good idea. I was about to shove my hands down the back of your pants they were so cold,”Gerard said as he grabbed my hand, locking our fingers together.

I chuckled quietly and rested my head against his shoulder as we started walking again. The street was empty. Completely empty. I was about to say how weird it was but my mind flashed back to the very first time I had been on this street. Gerard had told me it was alive at night time. Then he had dragged me into The Magic Bean and changed my life forever by buying me my first ever coffee.

“Frank this street is dead...”Gerard said slowly, glancing over his shoulder.  
“I was just thinking the same thing but then I remembered you saying that its only ever alive at night time,”I replied. I looked behind us as well but saw absolutely no one. Not one person or car.  
“Well yeah but there is usually at least a few people on the street in the day. And its almost 5. Thats when it gets busy for the night,”Gerard stopped us walking for the second time.

I watched worry flit over Gerard’s face, mixed with fatigue before it was replaced with something else entirely. Cold hard fear.  
“Gerard what’s wrong?”I looked to where he was looking and saw a lone hunched figure walking towards us.

“I think we need to go... Come on,”Gerard started walking again, yanking me forward to fall into a very quick step behind him. I looked behind and saw the person had sped up as well.  
“Gerard they’ve sped up,”I said. He said nothing but started walking even faster.

“Run,”Gerard said suddenly. I broke out into a sprint, following the slight tug of Gerard’s hand across the road. I could see the fence that lead to the school field up ahead, glistening with frost in the late afternoon sun. It couldnt be cold enough for frost already could it?  
“Fucking bastard is chasing us,”Gerard puffed as we pounded pavement.

I didnt say anything, wanting to save my breath. I hated running so fucking much. We slipped through the gap in the fence and struggled to continue running on the muddy school grounds. It had been so fucking long since I’d seen this god forsaken place. I had only gone here for like a month and I hated it. Although I couldnt resent the grey brick building too much. It had brought me closer to Gerard and Mum.

“I think he’s gone,”Gerard panted out. I glanced to my side and saw that he was running backwards.  
“Is he on the field?”I asked, slowing down slightly. I could barely breathe.  
“No. He’s gone,”Gerard groaned and stopped running all together, bending over and trying to catch his breath.

Gerard's phone beeped as I gasped for breath.  
"Oh. Um,"Gerard looked at me sheepishly and showed me his phone. There was a text from Mikey saying 'stop fucking running you douches'.  
"Call him,"I groaned as I spotted Mikey step onto the field. Even from here I could see his breath puffing out in front of him.

Gerard put the phone to his ear and waited a second before saying,"What the fuck Mikey? You scared the shit out of us."  
Mikey was getting closer now, holding his phone to his ear and talking to Gerard.  
"No no dont explain I dont wanna repeat it to Frank just tell us when you reach us,"Gerard shook his head and snapped his phone shut.

"You're a fucking lunatic,"I puffed, rubbing my arms for warmth as Mikey came to a stop next to us.  
"I'm the lunatic? You were the ones fucking running. Jesus christ,"Mikey took in a deep breath.  
"Did you not notice the street was completely dead? It scared the shit out of me and then to see you walking and not fucking calling,"Gerard said as we all started walking again.

"My phone wont let me make calls and I dont know why,"Mikey defended.  
"Well why didnt you shout out to us?"I looked at him incredulously.  
"I fucking did but you guys were too far away to hear me,"Mikey shot back.

Gerard opened his mouth but I beat him to it,"It doesnt matter now. We got a bit of exercise or whatever so we're fine. What were you doing?"  
"I was coming to find you guys. I knew you were around here so I thought I'd drop by Diane and see if you guys had. I almost caught you,"He smiled.

"Did you walk?"Gerard asked as we reached the school.  
"Yeah."  
"What the fuck? Why would you walk? Di said the streets are dangerous,"Gerard turned to Mikey, looking at him like he really was a nutjob.

"I- but its our turf..."Mikey shrugged his shoulders.  
"What do you mean?"I asked. I stepped closer to him, dangerously close to shaking him.  
"What? I thought someone told you Frank. A few days ago there was a gun fight outside The Magic Bean and we won. Thats when Di closed up shop,"Mikey said.

We rounded the side of the art building and stopped walking,"Shit. We need to get out of here,"Mikey said, backing away before any of the cops snooping around noticed us. We all silently moved back around to the side of the building. Once we were out of sight, on an unspoken agreement we started walking the long way round to the main road.Mikey seemed to be leading the way. Apparently we had somewhere to go.


	23. Mini Me

Gerard's POV

"This is fucking insane..."I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and push away the head ache threatening to take over and distract me from the terrible situation we were in.  
"You dont like it?"The tiny kid who couldnt be more than 14 looked up at me worriedly.  
"Dont like it?'I asked him incredulously,"This ia fucking war! Why the fuck do we need a fucking sign?! Are we trying to advertise to fucking everybody whats going on?!"I burst out.

The boy stared at me in shock and fear as Frank stepped in front of me before I could throttle the kid,"Gerard! Calm down okay?"He looiked up at me seriously, placing a hand on my chest.  
"How can I calm down? We're down by damn near 20 men. They killed ten fucking innocent people at the school. How the fuck can I calm down when we're wasting our time fucking drawing a sign?!"I shoved Frank's hand away and walked over to the window looking out onto a huge garden covered in a crisp frost.

We were in someone's house. It was a huge mansion full of useless crap to show off the amount of money the family had. Mikey hadnt told me who was letting us use the house but hey, it was massive and was apparently completely off the radar cause Mikey's friend was at his boyfriends place more often than not. The guys' parents were currently on holiday in England or something for another two months so he had offered his house as a safe house. Apparently the top floor was the guy's bedroom and thats where a whole heap of people were camping out, scared of leaving in case of what might happen.

"Gerard. He's 13. His Dad was killed a week ago helping deliver us ammo and he has no where else to go. He said the Cole got people to come after him but he got away. Mikey said some guys went looking for him and found him. Now he has nothing else to do but sit around here. He got bored and started designing that. Cut him some slack,"Frank grumbled next to me before walking out of the dining room. The table was fucking huge which was perfect according to Frank because it could seat everyone coming to the meeting tonight.

My brain hurt so bad. It was closing in on 8 o'clock and for the past 3 hours I had been introduced to about ten different people, all with difficult to remember names and different jobs, and not one of them wanted me to take over. Along with that I had been forced to read over different reports of fucking- stupid things that didnt matter to me. All I really wanted to know about were the mini bases that Frank had told me about. I was certain they would lead me to Cole.

I massaged my temples for ten seconds before taking a deep breath and turning to face the boy. He looked up at my movement and cowered slightly in fear. Jesus. I had a worse 'general mode' than Frank did.  
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just having a very stressful night. Let me see the sign again?"I made an effort to actually smile at him as I sat down.

"You dont need to apologise. I know you're under a lot of stress. I dont have much to do with anything but I hear things. When everyone heard you guys were coming back, there were rumours that Frank was handing over the reins. People dont know you so they dont like you. Frank's Mum gave us weapons to defend ourselves so immediately he was in our good books because he has known what to do to keep us safe,"The boy said as he added a few lines to the weird rose/dragon .  
sign.

"God. What else can you tell me?"I sighed and rested my head on the table, watching the boy's pencil move about across the page. I suddenly had a yearning to draw something. Anything. Drawing has always been an escape for me. A way to transport myself into another world created by me and only me. Frank said the same thing about books. That reading moved him into a world of pure imagination.

"I heard two guys talking. They said that because Cole has threatened Mikey and Frank, you're not going to care about anyone or anything so long as you get to kill Cole,"He said quietly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. People were gonna have to be set straight.  
"Whats your name?"I sighed and sat up properly.

"Kevin. How about that?"He smiled and pushed the paper over to me.  
"Thats really cool,"I smiled back at him. It actually was. There was a rose in full bloom with a dragon completely shaded in climbing the stem. In the centre of the rose two guns were protuding, the barrel's pointing out. I looked close and could see the letters 'BDFS' engraved on the handles of the gun.

"Thanks,"Kevin put his pencil down and stretched out. I continued staring at the dragon. Its body was a little off.  
"May I?"I asked, picking the pencil up.  
"Go nuts,"He shrugged.

I took another hard look at where he had gone wrong with the dragon and started parts of the back, the dragon's side and one of his legs. Kevin leaned over and watched as I redrew the lines, curving it around the way I had been taught to earlier in the year.  
"How'd you do that?"Kevin stared in amazement at the newly formed dragon. His back was smoother now, curving down to his tail properly and his leg fit in properly.

"My college,"I muttered.  
"Thats awesome. I wish I could draw that good. What else can you do? Do you have drawings you could show me?"Keven's eyes lit up as I started nodding but stopped.  
"I do have a bunch of sketchbooks but they're back in San Diego sorry. Fuck. Now I wished I had them,"I sighed. Why didnt I bring them with me?

"I wish I had a sketchbook. I just have loose pieces of paper pinned to my wall back home,"Kevin said glumly.  
"I'd love to see them,"I said as I stood up.  
"Cant. Not allowed to go home. The other side know where my house is. Oh well. Some of the guys here have given me their old clothes and that guy with loads of hair bought me a toothbrush so its okay,"Kevin shrugged up at me. It was then that I decided one of the first things I would do was get Kevin's drawings. And then I would buy him a sketchbook.

"That sucks. I'm sorry man. I- I wish there was something I could do. Maybe there is. But right now I need to go adn interrogate a bitch that poisoned me,"I sighed. Kevin waved sadly at me as I walked out. As soon as we had gotten off of our flight I had made Chloe call Cole and tell him I had gotten drunk and had slept with her. He had bought it like the idiot he is and had told her to stay with me all day and to try and pull information out of me. He wanted her to call him back in half an hour with intel.

"Frank? Where are we keeping Chloe?"I asked as I walked into the lounge. He was lying down on a couch about ten times the size of him watching Spongebob. He was completely sucked in. His eyes had taken on a glazed look. I was about to climb over the couch and sit on top of him when I realised that he actually had tears in his eyes.

"Frank? Pumpkin whats wrong?"I rushed around to sit in front of him.  
His hand flew up to wipe his eyes as he said,"Nothing I'm fine I just worry about Claire."  
"Oh sweetie,"I sighed and pulled him close to me. He grabbed at my t-shirt and took in a deep shaky breath.

"Frank you know you're gonna see her in a week right? And it'll be your birthday and it'll all be fine,  
I whispered.  
"I know I know. I'm sorry. Come on. Chloe's in the basement,"Frank wiped his eyes again and stood up with my help.

He lead me over to the staircase upstairs but instead of going up like I expected, he moved round behind them and opened a trap door.  
"Huh. This house is full of surprises,"I smiled.  
Frank made a non commital grunt in reply. He hated basements. I hated them too. All they ever did was remind both of us of Dean and that horrible night. Basements were evil to us.

"Will you fucking let me go?"Chloe growled as we came into view. She was tied to a chair in the back corner. Her hair was plastered to her face with sweat showing she had been struggling to break free.  
"Not likely,"I said and sat down at a chair against the wall closest to the door. Unlike every other basement I'd been into, this one only had one exit. The way we came in.

"What do you want with me? I'm useless. I dont know anything about where Cole is or how you might even begin to find him. I've been in San Diego. You guys know that,"She grumbled.  
"We may not be able to find Cole through you but you can feed him false information to help keep us safe,"I smiled sweetly at her and pulled her phone out of my back pocket.

"This time I want you to tell him that I'm desperately upset and have started drinking again because Frank called me today telling me he still loves me but he still wants some time away from me to give him a break. Tell him I'm filled with guilt for screwing a dirty slut like you and I just want to die,"I gushed as I dialled Cole's number.

Frank was leaning against the wall next to me grinning maliciously. I put the phone on speaker and immediately the dialling tone sounded out.  
Chloe took a deep breath when Cole answered, demanding to know everything.  
"Hey Cole. Gerard has totally cracked. He started drinking again at about 2 in the afternoon and hasnt stopped. He said he wants to die cause he so guilty for sleeping with me. It was made even worse when Frank called like an hour ago to say that he loved Gerard still and they would sort it out but Frank still wants this week or whatever away from him,"Chloe gushed, injecting happiness into her voice.

"Ha! Those fucking idiots. I knew it wold be easy to break Gerard. Soon he'll want to forget his last year of school and come back here for his stupid brother,"Cole cackled. I stiffened at the mention of Mikey and fought the urge to shout at him.

"What do you want me to do next?"She asked, a int of worry in her voice.  
"Uh keep up the good work? I'll call you when- am I echoing? Where are you?"Cole changed course.  
Chloe looked at us and shrugged her shoulders. Frank mimicked brushing his teeth and she nodded.

"Chloe?"Cole repeated. God I hated him.  
"Sorry. I'm in Gerard's bathroom. I thought her heard me talking. Even though he's too drunk to even see straight,"Chloe giggled.  
"Oh right. Well anyway, I'll call you,"Cole sighed as someone started shouting in the background.

"Hey wait,"Chloe shouted right before I hung up.  
"What?"Cole snapped.  
"Have- have you heard from Malcolm?"Chloe glared back at Frank.  
"No I havent actually. I told him I'd call him. Why? Did he do something?"Cole was suddenly more interested.

I snapped the phone shut before Chloe could tell him to call Malcolm. If he called Malcolm then Malcolm would tell him that we have Chloe and our cover would be blown.  
"You're cutting it pretty close bitch,"I glared and dropped her phone on my seat.  
"He's gonna call back in about 3-2-1,"Chloe said smugly as her phone started ringing on one.

I ignored the call and started typing out a text to Cole instead.  
"He thinks I knocked on the door now. And that Malcolm is doing nothing but what he was told to,"I smiled.  
"Fuck you. Fuck you both you revolting pieces of shit,"She spat at me.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Wanna tell me where I can find an antidote to the poison you put in my body?"I walked towards her, feeling the anger build up as she started giggling.  
"You're never getting it. That was one thing Cole was adamant about. That you dont get better,"She grinned. I couldnt stop myself from slapping her across the face. My hand stung from the impact and already I could see a red hand print showing in the dim lighting of the basement.

"Gerard come on. We've got a meeting to get to,"Frank was suddenly tugging on my hand.  
"I'll get you for this you bitch!"I shouted as Frank pulled me up the stairs. Once we were back onto ground level I became aware of just how nervous I was about confronting the group of people causing the sound of loud chatter in the dining room. I mentally and physically steeled myself, took a deep breath and followed Frank into the dining room.


	24. The Meeting

There was about 20 to 30 people in the dining room. Some sitting down, some standing up. All of them drinking their drinks and chatting happily. As soon as Frank and I walked in the room, the ones standing sat down and everyone stopped talking. I spotted Brendon sitting next to Ryan, Jon and Spencer and felt a bubble of happiness that at least there were some people here that would support my taking over.

I watched as Frank strode to the head of the table and looked at everyone. All their eyes were on Frank. He was just standing there, watching them all. Assessing them. His body stance was saying 'I'm in control here' but I could see in his eyes the nerves racing around. This was the first time he had ever actually faced everybody and I could tell he was scared. I had a sudden urge to hug him. So I did.

I ignored the looks as I walked over to him and hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear as I did,"Its gonna be okay. They respect you. Use it."  
Frank pulled away, a huge smile on his face as I backed away until my back hit the wall, Frank watching me the entire way.

"Arent they adorable?"Di giggled. Pete wolf whistled from the back of the room and that set everyone going. A million questions were fired into the room. What are we doing back? Is everything okay? Has Cole been killed? Has someone on our side been killed? But the question I heard the most was definitely the worst by far: Is Frank staying on as leader?

"Everybody shut the hell up!"Frank shouted suddenly, silencing everyone. I bit back a laugh and watched as Frank pushed his sleeves up and took a deep breath,"Gerard and I are back because we were found out."  
A burst of gasps and murmurs flooded the room but Frank silenced them again.

"Somehow Cole found out we had moved to San Diego and managed to get people to spy on us. A teacher at my youngest sister's school. A boy at my other sisters school. Someone at Linda's work. Someone at my work. I only know who the two at the schools are. Mum is doing her best to find out who is at her work but they covered their tracks well. Gerard got a threatening call from Cole not too long ago and found out that we were being watched but Cole being his douchey self threatened to kill everyone if he told anyone about the call. When the guys arrived, Gerard fell asleep or so we thought, but we talked about what was going on which brought everything out into the open,"Frank started pacing.

"Once we knew we had been found we made plans to come back after my birthday but the shooting at the school sped that up. We brought a friend with us though. She lived in the apartment next to Gerard's. Turns out she's a traitorous bitch and she poisoned Gerard with some sort of sickness thing I dunno. But she is down in the basement right now feeding Cole lies that Gerard is suicidal an I'm in Michigan with Mum and my Nanna. Cole bought it,"Frank smiled A few people sniggered but otherwise everyone was entranced by Frank's story.

"So now what?"Someone shouted.  
"Well. Now that Gerard knows, we think-"  
"Who's we?"Someone else called.  
"We, David, we being me, the guys and Mum all think that Gerard is better suited for being in charge,"Frank said it firmly but cautiously.

There was silence in the room before someone said,"But he doesnt know shit! He hasnt been here fighting. He hasnt been keeping us under control and stopping us from freaking out when the going gets tough."  
There were a few shouts of agreement but Frank put a hand up and they all shut up.  
"He is already half up to date with everything. He already has an idea of where Cole's main base is. He is taking over for me because I cant handle the stress. He can,"Frank said sternly.

"Gerard doesnt give a shit about any of us. All he cares about is keeping you and his brother safe. He doesnt care who gets caught in the crossfire,"David stood up and pointed a finger at me,"You'll get us all killed."  
I looked to Frank who looked like he was about to explode.

"Hey hey hey,"I walked forward before Frank could start screaming the place down,"Do you really think I'm that much of an insensitive bastard?"  
David opened his mouth to say something but someone tugged him back down into his seat.

I took in a deep breath and looked at them all,"It may hit me on a very personal level. And it may sort of be my fault Cole has this much anger but because of that I feel guilty as fuck for bringing you into this stupid feud. That guilt is what is driving me to protect you all. Cole, he is an insensitive dick who doesnt know what it means to have family. He has targeted you and your family's to get to you. I know what that feels like okay? I know what its like to lose a loved one. To almost lose another. I know how you guys are feeling so I know that it is fucking bullshit. No one deserves that crap for their sexual preferences. No one.

"Cole deserves to die. And you're right. I wont stop til he's dead. But that doesnt mean I'm going to recklessly use you all as a sheild to get closer to him. Now quit your fucking whining and help me out here. My boyfriend is exhausted. He had to have his little sister, his best friend, be torn away from him, literally, so he could be here to help protect you guys. Stop putting up a fuss over me taking over because, as vain as this is gonna sound, I am quite confident that I can find Cole before christmas,"I slammed my hand down on the table to signify my point.

No one said anything. Mikey was grinning next to Pete. Ray looked on the verge of clapping next to Bob who was glaring around at the room, daring someone to 'defy' me. I looked at Frank and saw he had tears in his eyes.  
"Pumpkin,"I smiled, he rushed to me and squeezed the breath out of me.  
"Thank you,"He whispered.

Still no one had said anything but then Brendon said,"How close are we to finding Cole's main base?"  
"Well I had a look at the map of all the mini bases that we know of, including the destroyed ones. Earlier in the year I got taught to pick out shapes from nothing. I did just that. If we find more mini bases then I'll have to try again but right now we think its in the forest."

"What are we gonna do about Dylan?"Di spoke up.  
"That is a good question. Do we have any idea where it was that he went missing? What time we last heard from him? What he was telling us? I need all of that information. Can someone get that all together for me?"I looked round at the silent but eager faces. A dark skinned guy with long braided hair raised his hand.

"Thank you,"I smiled,"Name?"  
"Justin,"He said in a deep british accent.  
"Thank you Justin. Oi Mikey! Guys!"I shouted as everyone slowly started talking again and Justin stood up and went to leave but I stopped him.

"You- where are you going?"I asked him.  
"To get your information?"  
"Dont be stupid you can do that tomorrow. Its too late for anything like that right now. Come on, we're having a night off,"I smiled. He broke out into a wide smile and sat back down, immediately talking to someone. Mikey and the guys stood in front of me and I smiled,"I have a job for you guys."


	25. Ryan's House

"Gerard this is a waste of time,"Bob stared at me.  
"No. Its not. Despite my stupid speech last night, there are still people who dont like me. I want to do something to change that,"I retorted.  
"I dont see how getting this kid's drawings will do that though,"Ray said, scratching his neck.

"Look, when I was talking to him, he sounded ridiculously sad. I wanna get hi his drawings back and buy him a sketchbook. The kid lost his parent and has a way of easing the pain by drawing. I'm going to help him,"I said firmly. Mikey nodded at me then looked at Pete who sighed and nodded. Once those two were in everyone else just had to agree. And they did.

Frank walked into the room as he hung up his phone,"This kid lived 3 doors down from where you did. Its dangerous territory if Cole really is hiding out in the forest."  
"No problem. We'll go with an arsenal,"I smiled.  
"How? We dont actually have a car,"Bob muttered.

"Actually we do. In about an hour one of Linda's friends will be driving my car here so we-"  
"My baby? Yes! You better not have fucked her up Gerard or I swear to god,"Bob grinned.  
"Your baby? No no no its my car now. You wanted a drumset more than her so she's mine now,"I grinned.  
"Yeah yeah whatever. She was still my first car and still has a special place in my heart,"Bob placed his fist over his chest dramatically.

Frank started giggling and just like that we were all laughing. I could barely breathe. Once our giggles had died down completely Frank said,"I think we need to turn in for the night."  
"Please,"Mikey groaned.  
"So are we staying here or do we go back to the house or what?"I asked as the guys all started wakling towards the door.

"We sleep upstairs. Its the only safe place really. And we need to be close to Chloe in case Cole calls,"Frank said, taking my hand in his and pulling me towards the door. We started walking up the winding stairs silently. We got to the second floor and I had just a few seconds to make out a long hallway with loads of doors. Coming out of one of them was a tough looking old woman holding a tray with medicine and bloody bandages.

I hurried after to Frank and asked,"What's on the second floor?"  
"The hospital,"Frank said simply as we came out onto the top floor. Which was just one fucking massive bedroom. A whole heap of furniture had been pushed into one corner next to a bed so that all over the floor people could sleep. There were some people in sleeping bags talking to each other, some reading books and some people were even sleeping.

I followed Frank as we picked our way over to where Ryan and Brendon were leaning on a desk talking quietly. When they saw us the stopped talking and smiled.  
"Good to have you guys back,"Brendon smiled. Frank looked uncomfortable.  
"Its good to be back,"I smiled.

"Are there any more sleeping bags? We neeed to sleep. We've been driving and flying for the past two days,"Pete groaned, stretching loudly, his bones clacking and making me cringe.  
"Yeah they're under the bed,"Ryan pointed to his left as he pulled out his phone.

We all moved towards the base when I finally put two and two together.  
"Frank..."I said slowly, grabbing his hand and holding him back.  
"What is it?"Frank looked at me. He knew exactly what I was gonna ask and I knew exactly what he was gonna say but I wanted to hear him say it.

"Who does this house belong to?"I tried to make it sound casual but my voice just came out tight and jealous sounding.  
"Oh I dunno. Mikey mentioned their name earlier but I cant re-"  
"Frank."  
"Ryan's house,"He mumbled.

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to shut down the extreme anger and jealousy that ran through me at that moment.  
"Why do we have to be here?"I said softly and opened my eyes.  
"I told you. Because Cole has no idea about this place and Ryan's parents are away for 2 months or whatever,"Frank sighed impatiently, frustration seeping out of him and hitting me in a huge wave.

"Was that the case when you blew him?"I snapped. I regretted it immediately but it was too late. Frank's face was filling with fury.  
"No Gerard. Actually, I sucked him off in the bathroom at the house!"He spat.  
"Frank-"  
"You wanna know something though?"Frank took a step away,"We made out in this room. Right over there by his bed,"Frank glared. I went to yell at him but I realised that everyone in the room was looking at us.

Frank spun around to Ryan and Brendon, frozen in place, staring at us in shock.  
Brendon looked from me to Frank and then very slowly to Ryan. From the way Ryan was looking, Brendon didnt know about something.

"You- you said you only kissed..."Brendon said softly. Frank mouthed 'sorry' at Ryan before shooting me a glare and walking back to the stairs and out of sight. I turned back to Ryan and Brendon to watch the fight unfold. Ryan was stuttering uselessly as Brendon rambled on about how he had lied and sworn that it was just what he had seen and nothing else.

Brendon was getting angry and still Ryan had nothing to say.  
"Well dont just stand there say something!"Brendon screeched and shoved Ryan.  
"I dont know what to say,"Ryan mumbled.  
"How about a fucking sorry you lying cheating bastard!"Brendon shoved him again, harder so he went flying backwards.

"Hey!"Frank was suddenly back upstairs and was running over to Brendon and Ryan. He got between the two of them just as Brendon had pulled back his fist,"Brendon calm the fuck down!"  
"You can fuck off!"Brendon snarled at him and punched him in the jaw.

Now, I may have been pointlessly angry and stupidly jealous, but that didnt mean didnt I love Frank. I charged over to them as Brendon raised his fist back again and shouted,"I fucking loved you Ryan! You swore, you fucking swore to me that it was just a kiss! Nothing more!"He shoved Frank out of the way and grabbed Ryan from where he was frozen in shock.

In my mess of anger I barely noticed people asking what was going on. But I did notice Mikey running over and grabbing Brendon's arm. I dropped next to where Frank was lying on the ground, holding his hand to his face as Mikey said into the now silent room,"Brendon. Let go of Ryan."

I watched as Brendon's tearstained face turned to Mikey and then slowly to everyone in the room. Ryan looked scared and guilty as fuck as Bob walked over and gently but firmly peeled Brendon away from Ryan. He put up a fight for about a second before just shiving Bob away and walking into what I assumed was a bathroom.

There was a moment of silence before whispers spread through the room and the guys all came over to us, including Ryan.  
"Frank. I'm so sorry,"Ryan sighed as Frank sat up properly.  
"No its not your fault. Dont apologise,"He muttered and took his hand away from his jaw,"I'm bruised arent I?"He said looking up at me.

I couldnt see too well with the dim lighting of the room but I could definitely see a shadow along his jawline that didnt belong there. I nodded sadly, hiding the suddeny shock of feeling his hand grab at mine.  
"Am I bleeding? I feel like I can taste blood,"He opened his mouth widely.  
"No I cant see any. I think you're fine,"I smiled.

"Ryan I didnt mean to- for that to happen,"Frank turned to Ryan. I had forgiven Frank a long time ago but no matter what I did I could shake the small bubble of anger and hurt whenever I thought about it. Being in California had helped me to forget it. And we were sort of even because of what I did with Jade. But now that I was in Ryan's presence I couldnt stop thinking about it and knowing that they were in this room together made my blood boil.

I pushed the anger into a box in the back of my mine as Ryan said,"Frank its my fault for not telling him. Forget about it. I'm sorry he hit you okay? I'm gonna go and try talk to him,"Ryan sighed and walked over to the bathroom. Everyone else in the room had lost interest in what was happening with us but no doubt they would be talking about it all night.

Once the guys had made sure Frank was okay, they all retreated back to their already made up beds. Frank stayed sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, his hands picking at the end of his jeans. I moved in front of him and crossed my legs too. I was trying to think of something to say when he said very quietly,"Gerard I thought you had forgiven and forgotten..."

I took a deep breath and said,"I have. I trust you with all my heart. I dont know what happened to me earlier. I cant believe the words even came out of my mouth. I'm so sorry Frank."  
"Gerard you dont need to apologise. I dont blame you for still having that anger deep inside. Sometimes you just have to let it out. Being in Ryan's house obviously made you snap,"Frank said, still deathly quiet.

I opened my mouth to say something but suddenly Frank shouted,"This conversation doesnt concern you guys, fuck off!"  
The sound of mutters and groans spread across the room and multiple people turned away from us.  
"Do you wanna go downstairs?"I looked at Frank hopefully. He nodded. I stood up and pulled him to his feet.

Once we were on the second floor, me leaning against the wall and Frank leaning against the banister of the stairs, Frank looked a lot more exhausted than before. I was overcome with the need to hold him when I realised it was because he put up a front for everyone. To make them think he's in control.

"Frank are you okay?"I asked without thinking.  
Frank looked up at me, shocked and apparently lost for words.  
"I mean- you just look so exhausted now that you arent in front of everyone. I uh nevermind..."I looked away, down the hall towards where the same woman I had seen earlier was coming out of the room at the end of the hallway looking sweaty as hell. She nodded at Frank then went into another room.

"Gerard if being here is gonna be a problem for you then its gonna be a huge problem for me and everyone else,"Frank said quietly.  
"Its not a problem I swear I just- let my feelings get the best of me. It wont happen again though because we've got bigger problems at hand,"I sighed as my phone started going off. It was a different ringtone which confused me as I pulled it out and put it to my ear.  
"Hello?"I said as Frank mouthed 'Chloe' to me,"Uh Chloe's phone this is Gerard speaking. Chloe's in the bathroom right now can I take a message?"I blurted out.

"Oh hello. I wasnt expecting to hear a mans voice,"An older woman chuckled,"I'm Chloe's mother. I was just calling to tell her that her father wants to see her before he goes."  
Panic filled me,"Goes where?"  
"Well to heaven of course. Goodness, that girl is quieter than a mouse about some things,"She sighed.

"Oh well I'm very sorry to hear that. I'll be sure to tell her. Bye,"I hung up quickly and stared at Frank, guilt spreading through me like wildfire,"Chloe's Dad is dying."  
"Oh..."Frank said. I looked down at her phone and sighed. She had 3 unread messages.

They were all from her Mum. I was about to put the phone back in my pocket when I saw Cole's name,"Why have we never thought to read her messages before?"I mumbled as I opened their conversation. I scrolled to the top and started reading. Most of the texts held no interest for me. They were all about Frank and I but it was stuff I already knew. I got close to the finish when something made me actually take the words in properly.

"Listen to this,"I said, glancing up at Frank's worried face,"This is what Cole sent a few days ago. I need a huge favour from you. And then she said she cant call right now and to text it. He said, and this is where you're gonna shit yourself, he said and I quote, I need you to get taken hostage for me."


	26. Fooling Cole

Frank's eyes widened in shock and he slapped his hand to his gasping mouth.  
"What- what do we do?"Frank stuttered.  
"Well she obviously thinks we dont know. She would have expected us to confront her by now. No. I'm pretty sure she thinks she has us fooled otherwise she wouldnt be so willing to do what we say. Cole knows she's feeding him lies... I know what to do, come on,"I grabbed Frank and dragged him all the way down to the basement.

Chloe was asleep but as soon as we stomped into the basement her head jerked up and her eyes flew open.  
"What do you want? I finally manage to get some fucking sleep and you come and wake me,"She glared at us both,"Whoa, what happened to you Frank? Did Gerard beat you?"

"Your mother called. And she said your dad wants to see you before he goes,"I said immediately.  
Chloe's face didnt change at all,"I know. Which is why I want you to let me go. Please."  
"Mm hmm. Whatever. Anyway,"I sat down, ignoring her and motioning for Frank to sit with me. He plonked himself on my lap, wrapping his arm around my neck. I could tell he was still angry at me but we couldnt let Chloe know that.

"Have you guys got no heart? At all?"Chloe shrieked.  
"Bitch. We have more of a heart than you. More understanding. More patience. And better morals,"I sent her an evil glare.  
"Better morals? What are you even on about you fucking lunatic?"  
"If your Dad really is dying, which I highly doubt, then he should count himself lucky he doesnt have to see the monster of a daughter he's got."

"Fuck you! You dont know anything about me or my Dad so shut the fuck up!"She shouted, tears spilling down her cheeks.  
"See now, I would fall for that. I would feel bad. Maybe untie you and give you a proper bed. But I know you're an amazing actress. How else would you have been able to fool us this whole time? Now, I dont know why I waited til tonight to read your messages, but I did. Now imagine my surprise when I read the messages between you and Cole."

Chloe's face cleared of fake distress and turned into a smug look,"Took you idiots long enough."  
"Shut up. This has put me at a disadvantage. Because now I dont know what Cole knows. Tell me, does he know we're back in Jersey?"  
"No. He knows neither of you are in San Diego but he doesnt know you guys are here,"Chloe sighed,"There is no chance of you guys letting me go is there?"

I ignored her and looked at Frank,"What do you think we should do?"  
"Not sure... We can either come out to Cole. Tell him we're here. It might draw him out of his cubby hole so we dont have to bother trying to find him. Or-"Frank stopped talking when he noticed Chloe watching us eagerly.  
"Lets take this upstairs."

"We can do what you want to. Get those sketches for Kevin. Gain people's trust. And then continue on as we've been, trying to find him. Or we can find a way to threaten Chloe and scare her so bad that she'll tell Cole fake information and not anything about us so we can let her go. Or, and you're not gonna like this, but we can kill her... Those are my only ideas,"Frank shrugged his shoulders.  
"I'm gonna pretend I didnt hear that last one... No. I dont wanna let her go. If she's lied to us for this long, there's no saying she wont lie to us again and say she wont spill. Letting her go is out of the question."

"Well Gerard its your decision."  
"But I dont take over til lunchtime tomorrow."  
"Fully yeah. You're still in charge now. Just with stuff you know. Anything you dont know about I handle and tell you about it so you can handle it next time,"Frank smiled.

I nodded and smiled back briefly before clenching my eyes and trying to pick the best option. Letting her go wouldnt work. Letting Cole know wouldnt work,"Right now it seems the best thing to do is go on as normal. At least now we know that Cole doesnt believe whatever we think he does..."I said slowly as an idea came to mind,"Come on. I know what to do."

Frank and I returned to the basement to find Chloe's chair was on her side.  
"Can you guys help me up?"She huffed out.  
"Been trying to escape have we?"Frank sighed as he hauled her chair upright.  
"I dont know what you're talking about,"She smiled. Frank ignored it and sat down on my lap.

"Okay guys can you stop pretending like you're okay?"Chloe sighed,"I've known you long enough to know when you're hiding a fight. So tell me, what happened?"  
Frank blinked at me before standing up. Great, he was still angry. He moved to the other side of the room and leaned against the bare wall,"Whatever. Like we're telling you."

"Chloe listen to me now. We have come up with a few solutions,"I scooted my chair closer to her and made her look at me,"We can either kill you or tell Cole we know about your faking it."  
"The latter. Please. Dont kill me. I swear I wont say anything!"She begged.  
"Yeah yeah dont worry. I havent got it in me. Yet."

"Thank you so much Ger-"  
"Be quiet and let me talk,"I sighed. I was more irritated by the fact that Frank was across the otherside of the room when he could be sitting in my lap. What if he thought I would be too upset over this all to take over tomorrow? What if he sent me back to San Diego?"We're going to call Cole okay? What I want you to do is try and pull out of him where he is hiding."

"Yes. Absolutely,"She nodded.  
I was about to call Cole when Frank stopped me,"You said Cole doesnt know we're in Jersey right?"  
"Um. Yes..."  
"Gerard we cant have her talk to him. As soon as he answers she could blurt out that we're here."  
I looked from Frank to Chloe who was looking pissed off.

"Find tape or rope or something,"I sighed.  
"Why dont we just go upstairs?"Frank pushed away from the wall.  
"Yeah okay. Enjoy your night Chloe,"I smiled at her before turning the light off, sending us into pitch black as we went upstairs towards the light.

"What are you gonna say to Cole?"Frank asked as we walked into the huge kitchen.  
"It'll come to me,"I muttered as I leaned against the bench and sat Chloe's phone down in front of me.  
"Do you think maybe we should leave it til tomorrow? Get some sleep? Maybe we'll think of something over night,"Frank sighed and hugged me from behind, sending hope shooting up and down my spine.

"Yeah..."I turned in his arms and wrapped my arms around him. We stayed silent, Frank's head resting on my chest and mine resting on his head before I sighed and said,"I'm sorry Frank. I can promise you I that from this moment onwards I will never ever mention what either of us did ever again. My feelings over it wont get in the way of everything at all. I love you with all my heart and the last thing I want to do is upset you at a time like this."

Frank looked up at me sadly,"I know. I'm sorry too... And I promise to never mention any of it ever again as well. We're gonna get through this stupid battle together. I cant do it without you,"He said seriously. I smiled and pulled a smile out of his depressed looking face. The left side of his face was now blooming into a brilliant shade of purple and it made me want to bundle him up in a blanket and never let him go.

"Come on. Bed?"I raised my eyebrows. Frank nodded and kissed me slowly before dragging me up to the bedroom. The lights were off and everyone was asleep now. Ryan and Brendon were in Ryan's bed together but they were both on the very edges, as far away from each other as possible. Frank grabbed a big fluffy looking sleeping bag and directed me over to a corner devoid of sleeping bodies.

"I'm gonna go grab us a pillow. Set this up,"Frank chucked the rolled up sleeping bag at me and turned around. I untied it and lay it down as Frank came back holding a fat pillow.  
"God I'm so tired,"Frank sighed and rubbed his jaw gently.  
"I know what you mean,"I groaned quietly as I tugged my jeans off and pulled my t-shirt off before climbing into the sleepingbag.

"Its gonna get really hot in here just so you know,"Frank said as he did the same.  
"Yeah but I'm practically naked. So any heat is gonna come from us moving..."I whispered as Frank climbed in next to me.  
"What are you suggesting?"Frank whispered.

Even in the near pitch black I could see Frank's grinning face. I smiled and kissed him,"Not suggesting anything."  
"Good cause we cant do anything,"He breathed as he maneuvered himself around me so our legs were slightly tangled and he was resting his head on my chest, the blanket coming halfway up his face. The whole room was weirdly silent considering the amount of people in here.

"Why are there so many people here? I didnt think we had that many people helping us,"I whispered.  
"Refugees. Cole has people spread out through the whole of Jersey and not just here. Word got out that we were banding together and fighting back so people just sort of congregated to us. More people came when he attacked someone's family. A lot of them dont want to fight, they just stay here and help clean and cook food."

"Huh... What are we gonna do tomorrow?"  
"Um. Well. I guess we'll go get those sketches and buy a sketch book. Then we'll go ahead and make someone overhear us talking about a fake safe house. Start planning the ambush I guess,"Frank sighed.  
"Sounds like a good plan,"I yawned,"Night Pumpkin. I love you."  
"Love you too Gerard. Night,"Frank murmured.


	27. Evacuation

"Okay everyone shut up its ringing!"I shouted as I pressed the green button and the call started. I was in the dining room with damn near everyone I knew sitting round the table. Chloe's phone was sitting on the table in front of me, on speaker, waiting for Cole to pick up.

The ringing tone seemed to drag on for ages. Some people looked nervous. Pete looked excited for god knows what reason. Frank was sitting next to me chewing off his thumb nail.  
"Hey Chloe whats up?"Cole's voice rang out through the room suddenly.

I took in a deep breath and looked at Frank who's hand dropped from his mouth and he nodded at me.  
"Chloe cant come to the phone right now. She's tied up in the basement,"I said before I lost my nerve.  
"Oh my god finally,"Cole sighed. Frank furrowed his brow and nodded at me again to keep going.

"Is Chloe valuable to you? Cause now that I know that you know what she's been telling you is all lies, I dont need her anymore. Now, I cant exactly let her go cause she'd go running to you and tell you everything. So, I'm thinking the only thing I can do with her is kill her."I forced the words out. I still was not at all comfortable about killing.

"Oh Gerard you're so new to this arent you? Its cute,"Cole said in a sickly sweet voice that made me cringe,"So what exactly are you doing? Trying to bargain? Because you havent really been clear on that. What would I have to give you in return so you keep Chloe alive?"  
"I- uh-"I looked around at everyone for help.

"We want you to give us Dylan back you bastard!"Di shouted from halfway down the table, thumping her hand down in anger.  
"Dylan?!"Cole started laughing. It wasnt an amused laugh it was a frustrated mocking laugh.  
"Shut the fuck up,"I growled,"If I dont kill Chloe will you give us Dylan back?"

"Well that doesnt seem very fair. I give you someone back and she's left alive. I want her back. If I'm giving you a body I want one in return."  
"Body? What do you mean by that? He better fucking be alive you bastard!"Di yelled, standing up and shoving her chair backwards.

I glared at her to sit back down before looking back down at the phone,"Cole. You know that I cant do that. Come on, think about it. What use is Dylan to you? You know who he is so its not like he can sneak around your back again."  
"No but I can keep him here so that if you guys send another piece of shit in to spy they'll recognise each other and I can stop them."

"You do know I can send someone in whenever I want right? All I have to do is make sure they've never met Dylan,"I scoffed, trying to sound confident.  
Cole cleared his throat nervously,"What if I told you that Chloe is useless to me now? I mean, she is really. You guys know she hates your guts so I dont need her cause she cant exactly act like she's your friend anymore. No. Do what you want with her, I dont care,"He yawned.

I looked to Frank for help. If he was being serious and couldnt give a fuck about Chloe then we had nothing to bargain with.  
"Cole we both know thats a lie. You know how good of an actress she is,"Frank sighed with exasperation.

"Fraaank. I was wondering when you'd step in. I take it you're- what did you say?"Cole's voice moved away from the phone and someone in the background said,"I've almost zeroed in on their location."  
"Hang up the phone!"Frank screeched, both of us grabbing for the phone and sending it to the floor.

"Fuck!"I shouted and picked it up and dumped it on table. The phone was off and had a huge crack on the screen.  
We all stared at it in silence, uncertain of what to do when Frank said,"Chloe wont be happy."  
I let out a giggle before getting a hold of myself,"I think we need to evacuate."

"Yeah but he said he almost. Then the phone dropped and broke. Shouldnt we be okay?"Bob asked.  
"I dont trust it though. We shouldnt risk it. Do we have any other safe houses?"I asked everyone.  
"Not as good as this one. But we've got a few scattered that seem to be off the radar,"Mikey said.

"Alright everyone go spread the word and pack your shit! I want us ready to go in ten minutes! If you've got a car then you car pool okay. I dont want anyone left behind or anything at all!"I banged the table to get everyone moving. Everyone's chairs scraped backwards and people started bustling upstairs.  
"You really think this is neccessary?"Frank asked as we watched everyone go.

"Yes. Our stuff is at the house right?"  
"As far as I know,"Frank shrugged his shoulders. I nodded and thought about it for a second.  
"Come on, I know where we should go,"I smiled, grabbed his hand and dragged him outside to the car.


	28. No Clue

"Where are we going?"Frank asked as we got in the car.  
"My house,"I muttered as I put the car into gear and drove away from Ryan's house.  
"Wait- you mean Pete's house?"Frank looked at me as I sped around the corner.  
"No as in my childhood home,"I said as I gunned it to skip a red light.

"Jesus Gerard slow down!"Frank gripped his seat,"Wont someone be living there now?"  
"Maybe,"I shrugged my shoulders. Shit what if Cole was there? I slammed the brakes on, sending Frank and I forwards,"We need guns."

"Gerard will you please explain first?"Frank said, taking in a deep breath.  
"If there is no one living there then we will."  
"That- thats the stupidest thing ever."  
"Whatever. Where can we get guns?"I sighed and started driving again.  
"Uh the- I'm not sure actually. Hold on I'll call one of the guys."

I pulled over to the side of the road and waited. I could hear the tinny ringing in the silence. It was almost lunchtime and we were in an unfamiliar suburban area that I had only ever driven through once or twice.  
"Bob hey. Yeah- yeah I know he just dragged me out- yeah we wont be long. Just uh, Gerard wants a gun. Where can I get him a gun?... No Mum gave me mine as soon as she found out... Okay thats- right. Okay thanks. How's everyone doing?... Oh good. Everything's gone? Good. Are you and the guys almost out? Awesome. Okay we'll see you at Pete's then. Yeah bye,"Frank hung up.

"We're going to Ray's house."  
"I love Ray's house,"I grinned and started driving again.  
"I've never been. Whats it like?"  
"Awesome. His Mum makes the best sweet potato casserole."

"Not as good as Mum's,"Frank muttered.  
"You say that now. Wait til you try hers. You'll be eating your words,"I smiled.  
"I'm sure I will be,"Frank sighed,"Gerard are you sure this is a good idea? Do you really think going all the way to your old house is gonna be worth it? There is bound to be someone living there."

I glanced over at him and was shocked to see just how worried he was,"Frank its gonna be fine. We're getting me a gun and we're just driving past to have a look. We wont be getting out of the car or anything."  
"Well then why do you need a gun?"

I took a left and slowed to a stop outside a house that I hadnt visited in over two years. After I had basically moved in with Pete and Mikey we had all started hanging out there or at The Magic Bean.  
"Well first off, I need a gun anyway. Gotta be able to protect myself. Everyone else has one. Second, I want one on the off chance that Cole really is hiding out in the woods. If he is in there then they're gonna have guards."

Frank opened his mouth to say something but shut it again with a 'hmph' noise. I smiled to myself and undid my seatbelt.  
"Come on, I can see Mrs Toro inside,"I said as we got out of the car. I locked it and started walking up the path to the front door, Frank a little hesitantly.

I ignored his look of worry and knocked on the door. This was Ray's Mum. She was one of the sweetest people I knew.  
"Gerard! Ahhh!"She grinned widely at me when she opened the door and pulled me into a hug, suffocating me with hair wilder than Ray's.

"God I've missed you boy. Why the hell havent you called huh?"She grinned at me, taking me in with her wise looking blue eyes  
"Didnt Ray tell you? I've been in California these past two years with my boyfriend and his family,"I smiled and gestured to Frank.

"You must be Frank! My oh my I've heard so much about you but they never told me you were this short,"She said as she hugged him as well.  
"Ooh uh its nice to meet you Mrs Toro,"Frank choked out. I couldnt even see his face through her hair.

Mrs Toro let go of Frank and said,"Well come on in you two! What brings you here? How come you're back from California then huh? God you must tell me everything!"  
Frank and I shuffled inside, shucking our shoes off as we went.

"You boys hungry? I've almost finished cooking lunch,"She said as she led us through the dark blue hallway and into the kitchen.  
"I'd love to but Frank and I just have to grab something for Ray. I cant be long,"I said. Frank was standing awkwardly in the doorway. I could smell a roast chicken in the oven and almost died. It smelt so fucking good and suddenly I was so fucking hungry.

"What do you need to grab? One of his guns? Cause I told him I dont want them in my house. And then just yesterday one of Ray's friends, Cole I think his name was, came by and said he was picking them all up for Ray. Taking them to his house,"She smiled,"He was such a nice boy. And he didnt accept any help taking them out to his car. Just chatted on about Ray and how he was upset over the delay in his music career as he took them all out."

I froze. Mrs Toro couldnt figure out why Frank and I were freaking out,"Are you serious? He has all the guns?!"I gasped.  
"She doesnt know about the guns..."Frank said slowly,"Ray said he never told her. He said he hid them in his spare guitar case..."

I looked at Frank then back at Mrs Toro who's look of confusion turned into a look of satisfaction,"You boys sure are stupid."  
"Mrs Toro no,"I whispered as she took a step closer. I turned to Frank, about to push him out the door only to see him take a step back into Mr Toro. He had a hand gun hanging at his side.

"Why are you doing this?"Frank said, spinning around and backing into me. I grabbed his hand and held it tightly as they kept getting closer and closer. They said nothing as I looked for an escape. The backdoor was across the room, slightly open to let in fresh air.  
"Frank..."  
"Got it. Now!"He shouted and dragged me towards it in a sprint.

Mr Toro shot at us. I ducked as we slipped past the table and slammed into the door. The glass shattered at our feet as Frank yanked it open. Frank and I split up, I went left, he went right. I dodged around a barbeque and hid behind it. I saw Frank dive into the bushes as Mr Toro stepped out the door and looked around.

"You boys cant hide for long. There's someone here who is dying to see you,"He sighed, slipping the gun into the back of his pants as fucking Cole came outside as well. I bit back a curse and took a deep breath. I couldnt see Frank at all. But I could tell that he was moving through the bushes lining the fence around to my side.

Cole took a few more steps out. More into the open,"You guys cant hide for long. You know I'll find you."  
And then, for a reason unknown to me, I stood up straight and said,"I'm here you bastard."  
Cole's head snapped to me and he gave me a slow cruel smile as I moved around the barbeque and got closer to him.

"Gerard. So good to see you!"He gushed.  
"Fuck you."  
"Ooh still got that bite,"He grinned and pulled a gun out of his pocket,"Gonna have to shut that up,"He sighed and shot me. I fell backwards as the burning spread from my stomach through the rest of my body. My vision went blurry as I felt the ground move beneath me.

"Gerard?"Frank called over the top of Cole's laughing. He sounded distant and tired,"Gerard!"  
Frank suddenly came into view, kneeling over the top of me.  
"No Frankie go. Go before he shoots you too,"I coughed out, feeling tears slide down the side of me head.

Frank grabbed my shoulders and hauled me into a sitting position, holding me against him tightly,"Its okay Gerard. Its over now. You're okay. Its all okay,"He whispered. I clenched my eyes shut as Cole stood over us, leering at us triumphantly. He was gonna get Frank too. I opened my eyes and screamed.

"Gerard whats wrong?!"Frank pushed me back and looked at me. Instead of seeing Cole I saw a massive poster Slash grinning down at me. We were in Ray's room. I squeezed Frank's shirt even tighter in my hands. I couldnt even remember grabbing it.  
"Frank we- I- you- Cole and- and..."I gave up stuttering when something occurred to me,"Why the fuck do I always get shot in these fucking things?"  
"I dont know Gerard,"Frank sighed in relief,"I have absolutely no clue."


	29. The Deep Dark Forest

"I dont know which one I should take,"I said as I stared at the 5 or 6 guns sitting in Ray's spare guitar case.  
"Just take one. Far out. They are all the same you know,"Frank sighed.  
"I want one that feels good and looks good."  
"They all feel and look good now hurry up. I dont want Ray's Mum coming up here and seeing them."

"Okay okay,"I swept my eyes over them again before choosing one in the middle. It seemed to fit my hand perfectly,"This is the right one,"I smiled.  
"Yeah yeah whatever man. Just tuck it into the back of your pants, get that closed up and lets go,"Frank said angrily.

I did as he said then followed him downstairs. Mrs Toro took about 5 minutes to say goodbye, making sure we were going to tell Ray to go see her, before she let us go. Once Frank and i were buckled in we drove in silence towards my old home. Two blocks away I parked the car and looked at Frank who looked stony as hell.

"Frank whats wrong?"  
"What?"He looked away from the window, seeming to be coming out of a daze.  
"You're pissed off. Majorly."  
"No I'm not I'm-"  
"Fine? I know you well enough to know when you're not fine, Frankie."

Frank sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds before turning in his seat and looking at me,"I am severely pissed off at Chloe for making you sick. I'm pissed off that you want to waste time going to you're old house. I'm pissed off that you have a gun. I'm pissed off that you're involved in this at all. Its not fair. We should both be back home. Enjoying having the guys over. Getting ready for my birthday. Not hiding guns in Ray's spare guitar case in his mothers house."

"Frank. I wanna make you feel better I really do, but there is nothing we can do about any of that. We just need to get over that and deal with the problems at hand. Like finding Cole, okay?"I grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly.  
"I know its just so exhausting,"He sighed.  
"I know. Come on, lets go check it out,"I said as I unbuckled my seat belt.

Frank looked at me in confusion,"Arent we going to your old house?"  
"Yeah but there aint no way I'm driving there. They know my car. We need to walk,"I said and got out of the car.  
"No matter how we get there, we're at risk of being recognised,"Frank shivered as a gust of wind swept dead leaves around my feet.

"We're walking. And not together either,"I said as I pulled my phone out.  
"What do you mean?"  
Frank stared at me as I slowly backed away, my phone to my ear with his ringing in his pocket.

I nodded at him then turned my back on him as he answered my call,"You cant be serious."  
"Yup."  
"Gerard its not safe. Let me walk with you,"Frank sighed. I glanced over my shoulder to see him starting to walk.  
"Its better this way because no one is gonna see us walking together and think 'oh gay couple. Shoot them' and tell Cole we're here."

"Alright then. But be careful okay? Keep a sharp eye out. If anything seems out of the ordinary you abandon this suicide mission. You hear me?"  
"Yes Frank. I hear you,"I sighed as the street came into veiw.  
"Good. So uh. How are you feeling?"

I let out a chuckle and glanced over my shoulder at him,"I'm doing fine Frank. No hallucinations. What about you? How are you feeling? Still pissed off?"  
"Of course. But I'm pushing it aside so I can keep you safe."  
"I dont think anyone's in there,"I said as I glanced across the road to my old child hood home. I bubble of nostalgia rose in my throat as I noticed that Mikey and I's initials were still carved into the side of the only tree on the lawn.

"What? Gerard why have you stopped walking?"Frank said.  
"We- we're here. It doesnt look like anyone's living in there,"I said. I hadnt even realised that I'd stopped walking. I hung the phone up as Frank reached me.

"Gerard can we please keep walking. I dont feel safe,"Frank sighed.  
"I'm gonna go in,"I ignored him and started crossing the road. There was absolutely no one in sight. A quick glance at the closest houses told me no one was even watching us through the curtains.

"Gerard!"Frank hissed,"Get back here!"  
I ignored him again as I reached the end of the driveway. I looked up at the dark windows. The sky was getting dark as well, big black storm clouds rolling in. Frank joined my side again.  
"Come on,"I smiled at him and darted over to the tree.

"Gerard I- is that- did you and Mikey-"  
"Yup. When I was almost 6 I think,"I smiled as my fingers traced the grooves in the tree,"Come on. Lets go inside."  
"No Gerard-"Frank let out a frustrated groan as I moved towards the front door.

"Gerard its gonna be locked,"Frank sighed as we stood on the doorstep and I looked around. We had stuck a key to the bottom of,"-the rock!"I stooped down and grabbed it from the edge of the shrubbery. Sure enough our old key was there. Mikey and I had never thought to tell anyone about it when they took us to the orphanage.

"Oh my god. How long has that been there?"Frank said as I pulled it off and put it into the hole.  
"For as long as I can remember,"I said as I turned the key and that smooth metallic click sounded out, bringing out a wide smile.

"Gerard we shouldnt be doing this,"Frank whispered as I pushed the door open wide. We stayed still for a second, staring down the darkening hallway, before silently we stepped over the thresh hold and closed the door behind us.  
"I dont like this..."Frank whispered,"I dont like this at all..."

"Frank? Quit quoting Harry Potter and explore with me,"I smiled and started moving forward.  
"Explore? Gerard you lived here. Dont you know where everything is?"Frank muttered behind me.  
"Yeah but you know, things might have changed,"I said as I walked into the lounge. The carpets had been cleaned since I had last seen them. A door to the kitchen had been put in but otherwise it was unchanged.

I stood in front of the front window, looking out through the overgrown rose bushes and onto the street. A dark sedan drove by but then the road was silent again.  
"What exactly are we doing here?"Frank came up behind me, sliding his arm around my waist.  
"You wanna go upstairs?"I turned in his arms, looking down at his curious face.

"Can I see your old bedroom?!"He grinned.  
"Lets go,"I grinned back. We raced back into the hallway and up the stairs. I stopped at the top, looking up and down the landing.

"Which one is yours?"Frank walked ahead of me, peeking into Mum's old bedroom.  
"Next- next to the bathroom,"I said as I walked into Mum's room. It felt surreal being in here. I had only ever been in here twice before. The first time was when Nanna had died. Mum had come into me in the night and had taken me and Mikey into her bed for the night. The second time had been when someone had come to take Mikey and I to the orhpanage. We had both put up a huge fight, wanting to take everything. In the end we had calmed down and had been allowed to go into her room. Mikey had grabbed the photo of her and Mikey from her bedside table. I had wanted to take her blanket but they hadnt let me. I never got to take anything of hers because of that.

"Gerard?"Frank said softly, making me jump.  
I cleared my throat and turned around to see him watching me from the doorway,"Yeah?"  
"You okay?"  
"Yeah I'm uh I'm fine,"I smiled briefly as I turned back around. I had a sudden urge to open the closet in the corner so I did.

It was bare except for a few coathangers. I stared at the back wall, feeling like I was missing something.  
"What's that?"Frank said, hooking his chin over my shoulder.  
"What's what?"

"That,"Frank pointed to something on the inside of the doorframe. I reached out and touched it.  
"It- its a button?"I leaned in to get a good look at it.  
"Oooh whats it for?"  
"I dunno the light?"I shrugged my shoulders and pressed it only to be hit on the head by something.

"A secret compartment!"Frank gushed,"Oh, are you okay?"  
"Yeah I'm- I'm fine,"I said, rubbing my head as I ducked out from under the small wooden door that had fallen down onto my head, revealing an empty shelf,"I wonder how long this has been here."  
"Judging by the smell of wood I'd say it was put in pretty recently,"Frank said taking a sniff.

"Hmm... Okay I just want to see my room then we can go,"I sighed as I closed the compartment and then the closet. After a sad look at my old room I took a deep breath and went downstairs.  
"I'm going in front this time okay?"Frank said as we stood in the hallway.  
"Okay you go now. I'm gonna have a look at the back garden a minute and see if my Nana's blueberry bush is still there,"I smiled.

"Alright well dont be long okay? Call me when you're out,"Frank looked at me seriously.  
"Yeah yeah okay,"I smiled and turned around.  
"Damn you got a fine ass,"Frank said behind me. I let out a giggle but didnt turn back. I would be seeing him in a minute or two.

I opened the back door and was immediately met with the smell of dirt and dead leaves. I looked around at the half dead garden. If the blueberry bush was still there it wouldn't be in season or whatever. I stared at the shed at the back sadly. Mum had once said that we could turn it into a den. Play video games in there when we had friends over. I looked over the fence at the forest and sighed.

I missed Mum. I missed Nana. I missed not having any of this crap to deal with. A car backfired somewhere in the distance and then again two seconds later, bringing me back to reality because that wasnt a car that was a gun shot.  
"Frank...? Frankie?!"I shouted out. I turned to run around the side of the house but was met by a huge old guy, towering over me. The muscles in his arms were the same size as my fucking head.

I backed away from him into another guy who was the same size and who was also shoving a gag into my mouth, pinning my arms at my sides. Within seconds I was bound and gagged properly and they were dragging me through a flap in the fence and into the forest.


	30. Don't Listen

Frank's POV

"Damn you got a fine ass,"I smiled. He giggled but continued walking with a slight sway to his hips. I shook my head in amusement and went out the front door. I stood still for a second before pulling my gun out. Something wasnt right.  
"You said he wasnt armed,"Someone growled before jumping out in front of me.

Despite sensing the danger I was still given the fright of my life.  
"Well dont just stand there, shoot him!"Someone else said. I stared at the guy in front of me. He was holding a shotgun awkwardly in his hands and looked as though he was contemplating why he was even there.

"For fucks sake,"The other person said and jumped out. He looked much more confident but not exactly trained. The only thought that went through my mind then was 'aim and shoot' and nothing else. So I did just that. I raised my arm and shot the confident guy in the thigh. He crumpled to the ground as I shot the other now stunned guy in his thigh as well.

I stared down at the two boys. Both of them about the same age as me. They were both holding their legs and whining loudly. I only just managed to hear Gerard call out for me. I raced round to the side of the house only to be met by a tall gate. I shook on it just as I saw a big guy in a grey tank top go round the side of the house.

"No..."I whispered, frozen except for my shaking of the gate. I muffled shout travelled round and sent me back into the house and down the hallway. I burst through the back door to find the back garden empty.  
"Gerard!"I screeched, pulling my phone out and calling him.

My phone rang once then I heard his phone ring quietly somewhere,"Gerard?!"I called, following the sound of the ringing. I found his phone in the middle of the lawn, dirt on the screen having been trampled on. I stared at it as I stopped the call.  
"Fuck..."I breathed.

I looked up and around the fence. There must be some sort of gate if they could get through it that fast. I spotted a loose board at the back and raced towards it, dialling Mikey as I went.  
"Frank, hey. Where are you guys?"He said when he answered.

"I uh- fuck. We- we were at your old house,"I said as I pushed on the loose board to reveal an actual hidden gate,"And Gerard wanted to see the back garden for a blueberry bush or something and I went out the front door to start walking so we werent walking together and two of Cole's guys jumped me but I shot them. I heard Gerard call for me so I went round the side of the house but there was a gate there and I saw some big guy and now Gerard is missing. His phone was on the lawn and there is a hidden gate at the back of the garden leading into the forest and now I dont know what to do."

"Gerard is missing?! Why would you let him go by himself?!"Mikey screeched in my ear as I went through the gap and took a look at the forest. I had only been in here once and that was with Gerard to go to the tree where he almost killed himself. I hadnt taken much notice of anything, let alone the fucking forest. I had no idea how far into the forest we had gone or anything.

"Because we didnt want people to see to guys walking together! So I was supposed to start walking and he was supposed to be coming after me but he hasnt okay! Dont get angry at me just please tell me what I should do,"I sniffed. There were no footprints anywhere but there was an endless supply of forest. Gerard could be anywhere by now.

Gerard's POV

Endless amounts of forest passed me. I couldnt recognise any of it. It had changed so much since Mikey and I had played zombie games in here. I tried fighting at one point it was completely pointless. Neither of them said a word to me. After about 5 minutes of walking one of them mumbled something to the other that I couldnt hear. Next minute, one of them was taking their shirt off and was tying it around my face so I couldnt see.

It smelt of sweat and cheap beer. I felt like I was gonna throw up. The gag was making my mouth so dry and it tasted like dust and dirt. I couldn't feel my wrists anymore they were tied so tight and I didnt even know what. It could have been rope but it was too heavy for that. After another 5 minutes we came to a stop. One of them knocked on something wooden, a door creaked open and I was shoved into a cool room.

I was in deep fucking shit. Frank didnt know these woods. I had no idea how far exactly we had gone but I knew we were close to the pond at the end of the stream that ran through half of the woods. If I listened carefully over the weird silence I could actually hear the stream running. Which meant it was going fast which meant it was going down hill which meant I was on the side closer to the edge of town.

It was all well and dandy for me to know the general area of where I was but how the hell was I supposed to get that to Frank and the others. I was shoved into a seat roughly. My legs were suddenly tied to the legs of the chair, rendering me completely trapped and royally fucked.

There was lots of footsteps around me. I felt the wind of someone walking past me in a rush but then suddenly it seemed as though the room was empty. I took in a deep breath through my nose and started wriggling around, trying to find some looseness in my bonds.

"Its no use. You're tied up pretty well. And if you even got untied then we would be shooting you in the leg before you even stood up. So stop trying, all you're going to succeed in is making your wrists bleed,"Cole said calmly as he took out my gag.

I spat to my side and tried to regain a normal feeling in my dry mouth.  
"You need some water?"Cole asked. It sounded like he was behind me.  
"Y-yeah,"I croaked.  
"Oi! Nick! Get me a bottle of water!"He shouted suddenly.

"Can I get this blindfold off as well?"I asked hopefully.  
Cole chuckled,"Sorry man but no. You dont get to see anything."  
"Why have you kidnapped me? What good is it going to do?"  
"As soon as I knew you were here I knew you would be taking over. I know you Gerard. You'd sniff me out too easily. So I decided to just bring you here myself. Drink."

A bottle was suddenly at my lips. I drank it back eagerly, enjoying the feel of the cold water sliding down my throat. I couldnt even care that he might have drugged it.  
"Frank may have been okay at leading or whatever but he had you. Without you, he's going to freak out. Your stupid brother and friends wont cope very well either. Everyone's going to panic because you're so god damn strong,"Cole said in a mocking voice. I didnt say anything at all.

"I'm actually going to call them soon. I'll give Frank time to get back to- I said no one is allowed in here!"He shouted as heels came clicking into the room.  
"Shut up. I just need to do this,"She said. Suddenly my face was stinging and Chloe was walking out again.

"Jesus christ,"I gasped.  
"When you guys did your littel evacuation thing, you forgot to get her out of the basement. Smart move,"Cole sniggered.  
"Are you planning on letting me go at all?"

"Hell no! I'm gonna keep sending Frank pictures of you or something and then I'm going to get into a video call with them and kill you in front of them. Its gonna be awesome,"He laughed.  
"If you're gonna kill me then why cant you take off my blindfold?"I sighed.  
"Hmmm. True. Alright Gerard, I'll let you see."

Cole's fingers roughly pulled the shirt away from my face. I blinked my eyes to get them to focus on a small wooden room. The floor was just dirt and there were no windows at all.  
"Are we- are we underground?"I stuttered as I looked around. My seat was close to a wall. In front of me was a small table with paper scattered all over it. There was a torch mounted in the corner and below it was a set of steps leading up to a trap door.

"Damn right we are. Not one person has even the faintest idea about this place. I had some mates build it for me a few months ago. Not bad right?"Cole came into my view and made me gasp. He must have lost aabout 30 or 40 pounds since I had last seen him. His muscles were considerably smaller for some reason and his hair was now shaved close to his head.

"Yeah yeah I know get over it. Its what prison did to me. I couldnt exactly spend my days working out with a look of anger on my face. No. Depressed is the best way to look. Ddepressed and remorseful. Worked like a charm,"He grinned at me, a wide toothy one. Except he had a few teeth missing. All in all, he looked insane.

"So what's gonna happen. You're gonna stand there and taunt me while you wait it out?"  
"Oh no. Not taunt you,"Cole shook his head, looking at me seriously,"Torture you,"He smiled.  
A bubble of fear popped in my stomach, spreading its poison through my body like wildefire,"Really?"I sighed, trying to hide my fear,"Oh how scary."

"I know right? I can see the fear in your eyes,"He turned his back on my and walked to the far side of the room, rattling around with something. He turned to face me again, a knife in his hands.  
"Cole you dont need to do this,"I stammered, sweat pouring out of my body like a fucking waterfall.

He was suddenly in my face, leering at me with a manic glint in his eyes,"Dont eye? You have no idea what I've been through because of you. Do you remember what you did to me?"  
Cole tugged his shirt up to his shoulders and showed me the twisted and grotesque scar covering most of his back. I forced myself to look at it. I hated what I did to him. I would never wish that sort of pain on someone, no matter how shitty they were. Maybe a good punch to the face but not that. I still had nightmares sometimes, hearing Cole's screams as I slapped the fire out.

"You remember how you threw that garbage can at me and set fire to my fucking shirt?! And then beating the shit out of me?!"  
"I was putting the fucking fire out you dick! I was trying to stop it from burning you and, maybe you dont remember, I was the one who took you to the fucking nurse okay! If I hadnt done that then you probably would have died. Try and remember that for a second,"I spat on his back.

Cole ignored the spit and pulled his shirt back down,"You were the one who set the fire in the first place idiot.  
"Nick! Bring me his phone!"Cole shouted suddenly.  
A door opened behind me and a deep graelly voice said,"We dont have it. It dropped out of his pocket when we were tying him up."

Cole closed his eyes and took in a deep breath,"Okay then, fine. Frank probably has it. I'll just call Gerard's phone,"He said to himself. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and pressed a button. After a second the phone was answered. Immediately I could hear the tinny sound of Frank's shouting.

Cole held the phone away, smiling at me widely. He pressed a button as suddenly Frank's angry voice filled the room,"-your spleen into your fucking ass you hear me?!"  
I opened my mouth to say something but Cole suddenly slapped the side of the knife against my throat, silencing me.

"Frank. Will you please calm down. I have Gerard right here. He's fine he's just a bit tied up at the moment and cant talk."  
"Gerard?! Gerard if you can hear me its gonna be okay. We're gonna find you and when we do I'm going to fucking gut Cole,"Frank said desperately. I closed my eyes for a second before looking at Cole.

"Please,"I whispered softly so only Cole could hear.  
He sighed and looked from me to the phone,"Oh fine. It will make it all the more dramatic when I start using this,"He smiled, moving the knife away from my neck and shaking it in my face.

"Frank I want you to listen carefully. As soon as I've finished talking I want you to hang up. Okay? I dont want you to listen to anything okay?! Nothing will help you find where I am at all. I love you with all my heart and nothing is ever going to change that. I need you to tell Mikey, and this is very important, I need you to tell him that the carving is still on the tree and that the stream still runs down hill okay?"I said, feeling the tears slide down my face.

"Gerard stop talking like this is the last time I'll hear from you stop it okay? And what the hell do you mean about the stream?"Frank sobbed.  
"Just- tell him okay? Its a thing from when we were kids like the carving of our initials. The stream runs downhill okay?"I pleaded,"I love you Pumpkin."  
"I love you too Ger-"  
"Alright thats enough. Gonna make me throw up."Cole sighed and took the phone off of speakerphone, putting the knife to my neck again.

I took in a deep breath, hoping to god that Mikey would understand.  
"Just give me a second Frank,"Cole sighed and set the phone down on the table. He came over to me and untied one of my arms,"Try anything and I'll shoot you."

I nodded and watched as he pulled my jacket sleeve off before tying up my bare arm again. He did the same to my other arm before tying it back up again and pulling my jacket out from behind me.  
"What the fuck are you doing?"I asked, shivering as the cold air moved over my bare arms.

"You still there Frank?"Cole picked up the phone again,"Good. Now, before you go, I want you to listen very carefully,"Cole said as he walked over to me, picking the knife up from the ground and placing the blade on my arm. Oh god.

Cole pressed a button and held it close to my mouth as he yanked the knife away, leaving a dark red line in its place.  
"Ahh fuck!"I screeched. Cole made another cut next to the first. I cried out in pain again, distantly hearing Frank's shouts.  
"Fuck- Frank. H-hang up,"I groaned. I opened my eyes slightly to see the phone call end.


	31. The Stream Runs Downhill

Frank's POV

I stared down at Gerard's phone in a dead silence. Mikey needed to hurry the fuck up. Gerard had the car keys so Mikey was coming to pick me up from their old house. I was currently holed up in Gerard's bedroom and was stuck staring at the phone in fear. Cole was going to pay.

The phone jumped to life with a call from Mikey. I scrabbled at it and put it to my ear,"Yeah?"  
"I'm here, you can come out. But be careful."  
"Okay. I'll be out in a minute,"I sniffed. I hung up and somehow made myself walk down the stairs and out the front door. Mikey was parked out the front looking sick. I felt even worse than that.

As soon as I was in the car Mikey was hugging me, shaking with sobs, pulling more tears out of me. We sat there for a minute before Mikey pulled away, mumbling something about sitting ducks and getting out of here. I wasnt really listening.  
"We're gonna get him back. You know that right?"Mikey said quietly. I looked over at his tear stained face before looking out the window without a word.

"Its my fault..."I sighed.  
"What?"Mikey said sharply.  
"Its my fault they were able to kidnap him. I knew going there was a stupid idea. As soon as I stepped out the front door, I knew something bad was about to happen. And I just stood there with my gun instead of going straight back to him. He wasnt ready at all. He probably didnt even think to grab his gun,"I groaned. I could picture Gerard now, staring at that big guy wondering what the fuck to do.

Mikey pulled the car over and looked at me,"This is not your fault Frank. Okay? You couldnt have known they were gonna jump you okay? Do not blame yourself for this."  
I looked at him and nodded slowly, knowing full well that I still blamed myself. It was my fault. I should have known that Gerard wasn't ready for anything like this. Mum had given me a bit of training with shooting at people, not real people but it may as well have been. Plus, I had this coldness in me that stopped me from flinching every time I pulled the trigger. I hated it. But Gerard, he got upset about me wanting to torture information out of Chloe.

"Come on. Lets get back to base and talk about what to do,"Mikey sighed and started driving again.  
"Cole called. He let me talk to Gerard for a second before he started hurting him somehow. Gerard said he loves you and that- the- the carving of your initials is still in the tree and the stream runs downhill or something,"I sighed.

"Okay, the initials I know. What the hell is he on about with the fucking stream?"Mikey muttered.  
"I dont know. He said you'll know what he means."  
"The stream runs downhill..."Mikey said slowly as he pulled up outside The Magic Bean.

We silently walked inside to find the guys, Di and Dewees sitting around three tables pulled together, drinking coffee or something stronger.  
"Hey Ray, what does 'the stream runs downhill' mean to you?"Mikey asked as we pulled up a seat. I ignored them both as Ray thought about it, and slumped my head down onto the table.

"The stream runs downhill..."Ray muttered.  
"He got taken into the forest if that helps,"I said to the table,"I found his phone halfway across the garden and there was an invisible gate at the back."  
"Isn't there a stream in that forest?"Ray asked.

"Yeah... Nana took us fishing at the pond that it leads to once. The stream runs downhill... He must be close to the stream. And it must be running downhill... He's near the edge of town."  
I lifted my head up to look at Mikey,"How do you know?"  
"There is only one place that the stream runs down hill and at the bottom of the hill is the pond that it leads to. If he can hear the stream then it means its going fast which means its running down hill,"Mikey looked at me seriously.  
"Alright. Call a meeting,"I stood up and looked around at everyone,"We're gonna send out a search party."


	32. Nothing Left

Gerard's POV

My arm was burning so badly. Cole had bandaged me up before he left, grinning at me and going on about how he didnt want me bleeding to death just yet. I think I passed out after the tenth cut to my arm. It was all just a blur. Now, I could barely see properly and my leg was covered in dry blood. I needed water desperately and the bottle was sitting on the table in front of me, torturing me even worse than the fucking cuts. I must have been down here about 8 or nine hours by now. I couldnt see any light coming through the cracks of the trapdoor. I tried looking behind me but couldnt see anything but the walls. The door must have been directly behind me. I tried shouting out but my voice cracked and only a whisper of a sound came out. I dropped my head in defeat and passed out.

-time lapse-

Its funny how quickly no food and water can take effect. It felt like my stomach had eaten itself and everytime I swallowed it was like swallowing cinnamon. The pain in my arm had dulled down to a low throbbing, barely there at all. I had no idea how much time had gone by since I had passed out but enough to have dried my insides out some more.

My head jerked up at the sound of a gunshot really fucking close. Another one sounded further behind me. The they started echoing everywhere. The door behind me banged open and Cole strolled in.  
"How you doing Gerard? Need some water?"He smiled, almost kindly, and put the bottle to my lips. I eagerly drank it back, struggling not to moan in delight.

Cole chuckled and set the now empty bottle on the table and stared at me.  
"What-"I cleared my throat and tried again,"Whats going on out there?"  
"Oh that? Your boyfriend staged a search party but our cameras caught them coming into the forest so I sent some guys out there to stop them."

"No!"I shouted, straining against the ropes. At the burn of the rope on my cuts I stopped, wincing in pain as Cole laughed at me.  
"Dont worry. I wont kill Frank. Yet. I'm gonna bring him down here. So you can both see each other die."  
"No please! Leave him out of this! He has nothing to do with this!"I sobbed.

"Oh but he has everything to do with this!"Cole clapepd his hands gleefully like an insane child,"The best way to hurt you is by physically hurting him!"  
"No please I'll do anything just dont hurt him!"I cried, pulling against my restraints despite the cuts.

Cole winked at me before walking out again as the trapdoor opened. Loud grunts and swear words reached my ears. Two footsteps came out of the darkness and started descending the steps.  
"Get your hands off of me! I'm not going to run, for fucks sake."  
"No... Frankie no!"I shouted as he stumbled down to the floor.

As soon as he saw me he rushed over, falling to his knees in front of me and taking my face in his hands.  
"Gerard.... Oh god Gee,"He whispered, his breath tickling my face.  
"Let him go!"I shouted as someone yanked him away from me, holding a gun to his head. Cole came back in and smiled at us both.

"My my, I've hit the jackpot,"He chuckled,"Now... How to do this..."  
"Pumpkin,"I whispered as Cole grabbed a gun from nowhere and aimed it at me. He snatched the gun out of the guys hand and aimed it at Frank.  
"I want you guys to look at each other okay? I want you to watch each other die."

"Frankie, I love you okay?"I sniffed, turning to look at his precious face.  
"Gerard, ever since you came into my life, its never been the same. I love you with all my heart Gerard and I'm so glad I met-"  
"Oh shut up,"Cole shouted and pulled the trigger on the gun aimed at Frank,

"NO!"I yelled. No matter how hard I tried, I couldnt look away from Frank's lifeless body lying on the ground at my feet, blood leaking from the side of his head. I closed my eyes, squeezing out the tears before looking up at Cole's twisted smile

"You said you would shoot us both..."I said quietly, my voice shaking with grief and anger.  
"I lied. But man oh man was the look on your face priceless. Sooo worth it,"Cole walked past Frank's body, kicking him aside like a piece of dirt.  
"Dont touch him!"I cried,"Untie me please! I wont run I swear just let me hold him!"

Cole looked up from a piece of paper he was reading and sighed,"Fine. Only cause its really quite entertaining seeing this,"He came over and untied me in a flash. I fell to the floor and somehow pulled Frank's body into my lap, cradling his head and rocking backwards and forwards.  
"Oh Pumpkin. Frankie,"I sobbed. Back and forward, back and forward, back and forward I went. I dont know how long I held him against me. Long enough for me to be covered in Frank's blood.

"Are you done yet?"Cole asked without looking up from his paper.  
"You're a sick and cruel bastard,"I sniffed. I looked up at him and blinked the tears out of my eyes.  
"Yeah yeah whatever. You wanna get back in that chair now? Do that for me and I wont kill your brother,"He set the paper down and clapped his hands twice.

Suddenly grunts and scuffling sounded and two more pairs of footsteps came down through the trapdoor.  
"Mikey?"I sniffed as I climbed back into my seat,"Mikey no."  
"Gerard? Gerard!"Mikey tumbled down the last few steps and crawled over to me.

"Mikey he killed Frank he shot him in the head,"I sniffed, putting my head in my hands and squeezing my eyes shut, doing my best to banish the sight of Frank's hazel eyes, no longer a swirling pool just- dead. That was it wasnt it. I didnt really care anymore. Cole was going to kill Mikey no matter what and there was no chance that Ray, Bob and Pete were alive out in that forest. I literally had nothing left to live for. There was no point in even trying any more because everyone I loved was dead.


	33. Sadness and Regret

"No no no its gonna be okay. Frank's right here with me. Gerard I need you to look up!"Mikey shouted, his voice sounded distant all of a sudden. And I couldnt feel his hands on my legs. I opened my eyes to see Mikey's hands were no longer on me. In fact he wasn't even in the room. Neither was Frank's body. I was still alone and tied up, dying for the water on the table.

I took in a deep breath to try and calm myself before bursting into laughter. I couldnt stop myself from laughing even though nothing about the situation was funny.  
"What the fuck are you laughing at?"Someone said behind me. The click of Chloe's heels moved in front of me and I saw her properly.

She was wearing her read scarf and her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. She had no make up on though, leaving her face pale. Her eyes were sunken in and she looked pissed.  
"I asked you a question fuck face."  
"It was just a hallucination! Ha!"I giggled, throwing my head back at the sheer relief.

"What did you see?"Chloe crouched down in front of me, tilting my head to look at her.  
"Cole shot Frank and then he brought Mikey in here to do the same. But it was just a hallucination! Oh my god,"I grinned at her.  
"You sure about that? You sure you didnt just pass out?"She raised an eyebrow at me.

"What do you mean?"I said in a low voice.  
"I'm thinking that, no, it wasnt a hallucination. It was more, you passed out from the over load of pain and emotions over seeing Frank die. Mikey's out back right now. If you listen carefully you can probably hear his screams,"She smiled.  
"You're lying..."  
"Why would I lie to you Gerard?"Chloe cocked her head to the left, studying me with a sinister smile.

"Because you hate me. Because you lied to me for 2 years. Its what you do,"I stared her in the eyes, trying to find some shred of evidence that she was lying. She had to be. But what I found in her eyes wasnt her mocking me. Or lies. It looked like sadness. And regret.  
"I'm not lying Gerard,"She said softly and looked down.  
"No no no no no you are lying tell me you're lying,"I shook my head, closing my eyes and squeezing my fists.

"Gerard I never wanted it to come to this,"She sighed even softer.  
"Chloe tell me you're lying!"I shouted, jerking my head to look at her again. She was grinning.  
"Yeah I'm lying. I had you going though didnt I,"She chuckled and moved away. I started panting heavily, trying to calm my heart but nothing would work.

"Hey Gerard, calm down. Here, have some water,"She sighed and shoved the bottle at my lips,"Cole said we have to sort of look after you anyway."  
I gulped the water down and cleared my throat,"How long have I been here?"  
"Closing in on two days now."  
"Jesus..."Two days. It was Frank's birthday tomorrow. Mikey had to have figured out what I meant by now. He had to.


	34. I'm Just Dying To See You

Frank's POV

Two days. Its been two days since I last saw Gerard. Two guys had died on my watch, scouting out the area of the forest that Mikey was certain Gerard was in. Everytime someone had gone in, they'd been on the phone to us, telling us that there was nothing but forest. And then out of the blue they would be shot. Whenever we went in to retrieve the body, they left us alone. We were about to retrieve the second guy to be shot but had planned it differently. We were going to make them think we were getting the body, but at the same time, the guys would be talking to us like they were talking to each other. About the forest.

I was going out of my mind. Cole hadnt called at all so I had no idea what state Gerard was in. Someone had been stupid enough to say that he was probably dead by now and that we should focus on something else to take my mind off of it. He was now nursing a broken nose and a black eye. I knew Gerard was alive. If Cole had killed him, he would have made it known. He would have made sure I felt worse than I already do.

"Frank...?"Bob said quietly behind me. I looked up from the book that I had been staring at and waited for Bob to say whatever he wanted to. He was holding out a phone,"Linda's on the phone."  
I grabbed the phone from him, muttering a thanks before putting the phone to my ear and breaking down.

"Oh Frankie baby,"She sighed.  
"Mum I dont know what to do,"I cried,"He's just- gone. I cant stand it. I need him back."  
"I know Frank, I know,"Her voice soothed me,"Frank listen to me. You need to keep it together okay? For Gerard. Sweetie Frank's busy right now."  
"No no put Claire on. I need to hear her voice,"I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

"Hi Frankie!"  
"Hey kiddo,"A smile broke out onto my face.  
"What time are you getting here tomorrow? Are we still having your birthday party at home?"She asked me. At the thought of my birthday I couldnt stop myself from breaking down again.  
"I uh- I'm not sure sweetie, Gerard- I cant come without Gerard but he's a little tied up right now and might be for a while,"I sobbed.

"Frankie whats wrong?! Are you okay?! Is Gerard okay?! Is it the people that tried to kill you? Do you want me to come and beatm them up? Nana taught me how to fight."  
"No Claire,"I chuckled,"Thats okay sweetie. Claire I need to go okay? You give Mum and Lily and Nana my love alright? I love you so much and I'm gonna do my best to get there tomorrow but- dont expect me."  
"Okay. I love you too Frankie. Tell Gerard I love him,"Claire sighed.  
"Mmm hmm. Will do,"I uttered out before ending the call so I could break down again.

"Frank! Get in here!"Pete screeched from outside the door. I stood up and walked out into the seating area of the bean.  
"What?"I sighed.  
"Cole's on the phone."Ray held up Gerard's phone.

I rushed over and grabbed the phone, putting it to my ear,"Listen you little bastard. I'm gonna rip your head-"  
"Whoa whoa whoa, Frank. Calm down. No need to be like that. You listen to me, I remembered that its your birthday in about three hours so I decided I'd send a little present to that old safe house you were in. You know where Ryan Ross used to live?"

"I swear to god if you've cut off part of him and sent it there I'm gonna do the same to you twice you hear me?!"I screeched, already grabbing Bob's car keys from the table. Mikey was already following me as I walked to the door.  
"No I wouldnt do that to you. He's in the basement. And I'd hurry, he's losing a lot of blood,"Cole said then hung up.

"He's in Ryan's basement!"I shouted as I walked out the door, Mikey following me.  
"You guys wait! What if its a trap! You're walking right into it!"Bob grabbed me as I was about to get into the car.  
"What if its not? I'm supposed to just play it safe? Bob, I need him back. I'm not gonna sit here and twiddle my thumbs while I wonder if my boyfriend is dying in a fucking basement okay?!"I wrenched my arm out of his grip and got in the car, slamming the door and the keys into the ignition.

"Go,"Mikey said. I floored the gas and sped off as fast as I could, ignoring the traffic lights and speed limit. In two minutes I was screeching to a halt outside of Ryan's house. The front door was wide open as I ran up the path and straight down the hallway, Mikey hot on my heels. I almost fell down the stairs into the basement. I staggered out onto the floor and looked around,"Gerard?"

I heard a muffled yelp from the other side of the room. I skidded around the shelves and saw him sitting tied to a chair with a bag on his head.  
"Gerard!"I yelped, fear gripping my throat and making it hard to breath. I yanked the bag off of his head and almost fainted with relief.

I ripped the tape off of his mouth and smothered him in a kiss,"Oh god Gerard I missed you."  
"Frankie no. Go before they get you,"He sniffed.  
"No Gerard its okay. They moved you to Ryan's basement. You're safe now,"I whispered, pressing my forehead against his.

I moved away and let Mikey grab a hold of him at which point Gerard started shouting at us to leave.  
"You guys he's gonna come and get you you need to leave! Please I cant watch either of you die again please,"He sobbed.  
"Gerard!"I yelled and slapped his face,"Gerard listen to me!"

His eyes went wide as he stared me in the face,"Its okay. This is real okay? I'm real. You're real and you're okay. Cole let you go. You're okay. You listening to me?"  
He closed his eyes and nodded,"Yeah... Okay..."  
Mikey had already untied him so I grabbed his arms and pulled him to his feet.

"Be careful with my arms,"Gerard winced. I looked down and carefully pulled his sleeves up to reveal thick bandages soaked with blood.  
"Oh jesus. Come on we need to get you to a hospital."

-time lapse-

"Can you tell me in english please?"Mikey asked angrily.  
"He's been stabilized and his arms have been stitched up. He's going to be okay. We're moving him to the rehabilitation unit in an hour,"The doctor smiled at Mikey and I,"He's asleep right now but you can see him if you want?"  
"Yes, please. Thank you Doctor,"I managed to pull the corners of my mouth up for a second.

He stepped aside and opened the door into Gerard's room. Mikey and I took a few steps in, the door shut behind us and the room was silent except for the quiet beeping of the monitor. I could barely breathe. He looked so fragile and small in the hospital bed. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell very slowly.

"Frank what do we do?"Mikey asked quietly.  
"Uh... I'm not sure."  
"Um..."Mikey and I looked at each other before I decided to go and sit next to Gerard. I grabbed a seat from the corner of the room and set it down next to the head of his bed.

Mikey stayed standing by the door looking terrified.  
"Oh Gerard,"I sighed, placing my hand lightly on his. At my touch his eyes fluttered open.  
"Gerard?"Mikey rushed to the end of the bed, gripping it tightly. Gerard's eyes slowly roved the room, going from 'what the hells going on' to 'holy fucking christ' in two seconds flat.

"Where- where am I? What the fuck?!"Gerard shouted out. He yanked his hand away from me but then he actually looked at me,"Frankie? Frank whats going on?!"  
"Gerard its okay! Calm down its okay. Cole kidnapped you for two days but he let you go. You're in the hospital now,"I grabbed his hand again and held it tight.

"No... No no no. This is just another hallucination. No I wont fall for it again,"Gerard squeezed his eyes shut then opened them again.  
"Gerard this is real okay? This isnt a hallucination,"I stood up and grabbed his other hand, squeezing them tightly,"Look at me Gerard."

Gerard slowly turned his head to me, tears streaming down his face,"Frank?"  
"This. Is. Real. You hear me? I'm real. You're in hospital and this is real,"I stared hard into his eyes.  
Gerard looked from me to Mikey who nodded at him enthusiastically,"Frank what the hell is going on?"

"Cole kidnapped you. You've been underground somewhere in the forest. A few hours ago Cole called me saying that my birthday present was in the basement of Ryan's house. My present being you,"I could see the exact moment it all started coming back to him.  
"I watched you die... Three times..."He whispered.

I flinched slightly and perched my butt on the edge of the bed,"It wasnt real, Gerard. It was just a hallucination."  
"What if this is a hallucination?"He asked softly, squeezing his eyes shut before opening them again.  
"Think about it Gerard. In any hallucination you've had, have you ever heard anyone even say the word hallucination?"

Gerard looked at me, thinking hard before shaking his head,"No."  
"Well there you go. Whenever you get unsure you just ask me and I'll tell you. I'm here for you okay? I'm never leaving your side,"I leaned down and kissed him softly.  
"So what did I miss then?"

"Not much. Just me freaking out every second while everyone else tried to find you,"I sighed. I couldnt even explain the sheer amount of happiness and fucking relief that was filling my body.  
"Did the doctors say when I'm allowed to leave?"Gerard asked, running his fingers over the bandages on his arm.

"Yeah umm... About that,"I looked at Mikey for help but he just gestured for me to continue,"Um. Because we dont want the police involved in any of this we uh we told the doctors you tried to kill yourself..."  
"I thought you might. It does look like it doesnt it,"Gerard chuckled awkwardly, his hands dropping to his sides.

"Well yeah so... they think you have- problems. And they're moving you to the rehab unit soon..."  
"Wait so-"  
"They wont discharge you for a while..."I flinched away slightly from Gerard as his face contorted with emotions.

He took a deep breath and his face cleared,"Guess I'll just have to get out of here now,"He sighed and sat up properly. His hand went to the iv needle but I stopped him just in time from ripping it out,"No. Gerard. You've been held against your will for two days. You barely eat anyway and I find it hard to imagine Cole feeding you, let alone giving you a drink. You're staying for a couple of days."

"For your information, he gave me water."  
"You sound like your defending,"I sighed and took my hand off of Gerard's slowly, watching his arm for any sudden movements.  
"Of course I'm not defending the bastard. I'm just saying, I'm fine. If I get a good meal in me then I'll be good as new."

"Gerard no matter what you say, you're not leaving this place until we come and get you. Okay?"Mikey said frustratedly.  
"No this isnt fair. I dont want to be here!"Gerard shouted, throwing his arms up in the air as the doctor walked in. Boy that sure helped our case.

"We're ready to move you to the rehabilitation unit now if you want? Or we can give you another ten minutes alone,"The doctor smiled.  
"I want to be transferred,"Gerard said suddenly, a light seeming to come on in his eyes.  
"Transferred? To where?"I looked at Gerard in confusion.

"San Diego Hospital."  
"Well I can call to see if they have room but-"  
"No I need to be there today. There's a little girl just dying to see my boyfriend on his birthday,"Gerard smiled widely at me.

"Jesus christ its my birthday!"I smacked my hand to the top of my head.  
"Happy birthday dude,"Mikey grinned at me,"Sorry we all forgot."  
"Dont be sorry. Even I forgot,"I muttered.  
"I'm sorry but your boyfriend tried to kill himself on the eve of your birthday?"The doctor raised an eyebrow at us all.

"Oh um. Can you give us a minute alone?"I asked hopefully. He nodded and left the room,"We've gotta get you out of here."  
"Thank you. Now come on, I'm dying to see everyone else."


	35. I Dont Want To Lose You Again

Gerard's POV

"Ow. Ew. Ow ew,"I muttered as I yanked the needle out of my arm. I grabbed a tissue from a small table and dabbed it to the small spot of blood as I climbed out of bed,"Are my clothes anywhere?"  
"They should be. Hold on,"Frank pulled open a cupboard and produced a pile of dirty looking clothes.

"Bingo,"I smiled and hobbled over to him. I wasn't going to tell him my ankles were sore from the ropes. I was just going to grin and bear it. I was out and I wasnt in a hallucination. That I was pretty sure of.  
"You guys need to hurry up,"Mikey poked his head through the door as I pulled on my stinky jeans.

"If he tries to come in just tell him we're having a moment or something. Frank's talking to me about what I tried to do,"I muttered as I carefully pulled the hospital gown off. I pulled my top on quickly and shoved my feet into my shoes without socks, making me cringe.  
"You ready to go?"Frank asked when I stood up straight and looked around.

"I think so. Not forgetting anything am I?"I looked around to check.  
"Nope. Get over here a second. I missed you,"Frank grabbed me and squeezed the fuck out of me when I was close. Holding me for so very very long. I hugged him back, closing my eyes and enjoying the warmth.

"You guys come on. He's said he'll be back in two minutes,"Mikey grumbled,"We can do the hugs back at the house."  
"Yeah okay, sorry."

-time lapse-

"Oh my god this tastes so good,"I moaned, literally, around my mouthful.  
"Dude. Its airline food. Its shit,"Frank muttered as he poked at his wilted salad.  
"Mmm hmm. You should try some of this roast potato. Its fucking amazing,"I said, holding out a forkful of potato.  
"No I'm fine. I'm not that hungry,"Frank muttered and started stacking up his disposable plates.

"How much longer have we got?"I asked as I finished my food.  
"I dunno. Another half hour I think,"Frank smiled to himself.  
"You excited?"  
"Fuck yes. I'm so desperate to see Claire,"Frank sighed.

"I cant believe Linda managed to get us a flight. How the hell does she do it?"  
"Not sure. She likes to keep that part of her life secret. Although I think it has more to do with her Mum."  
"Tell me about it. I mean, what the hell was up with that room full of guns?"I scratched my nose as the vision of all those guns came back to me.

"Maybe we'll find out when we're there?"Frank shrugged his shoulders at me.  
"Hmmm. I'm gonna go to the bathroom before we land,"I sighed and slipped out of my seat and into the aisle. I quietly crept down towards the bathrooms. After we had escaped the hospital, we had met everyone at the bean. An hour after that we had been packing to go back to San Diego to meet the girls. I had no idea what to do for Frank's birthday. All I knew was that I had to think of something soon or I was screwed.

-time lapse-

"FRANKIE!"  
"Hey kiddo! Oh god I missed you!"Frank staggered backwards as she collided into him.  
"Hi Linda,"I breathed as she hugged me.  
"My god you gave us a scare boy. Jesus christ,"She chuckled.

"Lily! Ahh!"Frank shouted when she came into the room. We were at Frank's home in the lounge. The place was dusty even though it had barely been a week since we left. It was cold and lonely feeling. We were about to breathe life into it tonight. The guys were getting a flight over here later in the day after dealing with faking a safe house.

After all the hugs and hellos, we were all dragging out the last of the halloween decorations while Linda was out getting food with Claire.  
"Where should these lights go?"Lily climbed out of the big black sack and held up a big knots of cords and little pumpkins.

"Uhhhh maybe..."Frank looked up from his knot of lights and looked around the room,"Lets just wait until we untangle it first."  
"That is a good idea and seeing as I have mine untangled I get first dibs,"I grinned and stood up. The lights looped around and around my neck were surprisingly heavy.

"What do you mean first dibs?"Lily grunted as she sat down on the couch and started tugging on the lights.  
"I have a vision,"I stared up at the ceiling, turning in a circle,"Are there any streamers here?"  
"Uhhh doubt it. I'll call Mum and tell her to get some,"Frank removed himself from the bat devils snare and walked into the kitchen,"Anyone want a can of coke?"  
"Yeah!"Lily and I chorused together.

As soon as I heard Frank talking on the phone I rushed over to Lily and crouched down in front of her,"You gotta help me,"I said desperately.  
"Frank's birthday present got you?"Lily said without looking up.  
"Yes. I have no idea what to do."

"Dont worry. Just do something romantic that he'll love. He'll be happy with that. Considering you were kidnapped two days before hand, he's not gonna care if you dont do anything at all. You know him,"Lily looked up at me finally, a smug smile on her face.

"What have you gotten him?"I moved away from her and dragged a stool over to a corner of the room.  
"Yeah what did you get me?"Frank said as he walked in the room.  
"Dude I'm not saying now,"Lily grinned.

"Frank how much did you hear?"I asked frantically."  
"Not much. Why, did you tell her what you got me?"Frank asked eagerly as I climbed up onto the stool.  
"Yup. And you're gonna love it,"Lily grinned,"Its really quite fantastic."

I spun around, almost falling off of the chair, to glare at Lily.  
"Ooh I'm excited,"Frank grinned up at me.  
"Well- good. I dont want you to ruin the surprise so you- I need to go,"I changed the direction of my sentence as an idea popped into my head.

"Aye? But I thought you had a vision?"Frank said in a mocking tone.  
"I know, and I'll be back soon, but I really need to change one little thing with your present,"I smiled and jumped down from the stool, landing directly in front of him.

"But... We need your help... And your vision,"He said sadly.  
"Frankie, I'll be fine,"I wrapped my arms around him, knowing exactly why he didnt want me to leave.  
"Well where will you be going?"He pouted at me.

"My apartment."  
"You do remember your hallucination right? Where I'm looking for you and I get blown away while you listen next door?"  
"Frank please dont remind me. It's been hard enough getting rid of the images of you almost dead or actually dead,"I groaned,"I'm going to be fine. I'm going to the store to grab some things and then I'm going to my apartment to add the finishing touches. I will call you when I get to the supermarket, you can keep me on speaker while I do my shopping, I will call you when I get to my apartment where you can put me on speakerphone again. Sound good?"

"Well yeah but-"  
"No buts Frank. I'm going otherwise you wont get your present,"I smirked at his shocked face.  
"Okay well- be safe. Alright? No speeding no- nothing just keep your eyes open. I dont want to lose you again,"Frank said quietly.

I pulled him against me, wrapping my arms around him completely to hold him tightly,"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Not on your birthday. I promise,"I said softly and kissed the top of your head.  
"Okay... Love you Gerard,"He sighed and looked up at me, a small smile on his face.  
"I love you too Pumpkin,"I smiled back at him and kissed him softly.

"Jesus christ just go Gerard. Oh my god. You two are like a newly wed couple its insane!"Lily burst out suddenly. Frank and I broke apart.  
"Fuck you Lily. In case you forgot, he's been kidnapped for the past two days so I'm sorry if I'm a little attached and over protective of him right now,"Frank glared at her as I slipped out of his arms.  
"I'll call you okay?! Goodbye you guys!"I called as I rushed out the door to Frank's car.


	36. Cheesy Romantic Crap

"Yeah I'm gonna head over to my apartment now. Have the guys landed yet?"I asked Frank as I paid the cashier for all my crap.  
"Not yet. They land in about ten minutes I think. Drive safe okay?"Frank sighed.  
"Of course,"I smiled as I walked back out to the car.

"I love you Frankie,"I said and hung up. Someone walked past the car in a rush, talking on a phone but otherwise the convenience store was silent. I brushed off the weird feeling and got back into the car, locking the doors behind me. I started the car in a rush and stalled it as the horrible prickly sensation kept getting stronger. I tried the car again, trying to relax myself more, and was able to screech out of the parking lot and onto the road.

In two minutes I reached the apartment complex and was grabbing my crap to race upstairs as fast as possible. I just wanted to get inside. I kept checking over my shoulder as I struggled to get the key in the lock, jiggling it open, and slamming it shut behind me. I locked it straight away, dumped my shopping on the couch and called Frank.

"I'm at the apartment now,"I puffed, feeling the adrenaline slowly ebb away.  
"You okay? You sound out of breath. You been running?"Frank questioned me.  
"No no I'm fine I just- havent gone up that many stairs in a while,"I chuckled.  
"Lazy. So, how long is whatever you're doing gonna take?"

"Uhhh..."I looked down at the bag spilling its contents everywhere,"Maybe two hours? Three tops?"  
"Three hours?! I thought this was just adding finishing touches?"  
"I know but-"I put him on speakerphone,"I never said it wouldnt take five minutes. Its gonna take a while cause its so fantasticly awesome."

I set the phone down as Frank started ranting about how I was doing this on purpose to escape helping cook food and put decorations up. I ignored him and started peeling off the wrapping for the rose petals. It was cheesy romantic crap but hey, at least I was doing something.  
"Gerard are you even listening to me?"Frank brought me back to him.

"Of course I am Frankie,"I said absent mindedly as I started setting candles down everywhere.  
"Sure you are. Listen, me and Mum are gonna go and pick the guy up now. Mum say hi."  
"Hi Gerard."  
"Hi Linda. Frankie how much room do you have on your wall?"I asked as I stared down at a half finished painting I had started months ago.

"Uhhh I have some room. Why?"  
"Just wondering,"I smiled,"I've gotta go okay? This needs two hands. Love you!"  
"Wait Ger-"I hung up before he could demand to know what I was doing. Frank had one other painting of mine on his wall and a bunch of posters. The painting on his wall was of him with Claire, Lily and Linda. It had been a nightmare to get them to post for a picture so I could paint it.

The one I was painting right now was of Frank and I at Disneyland, soaking wet and both grinning like dicks. I was determined to finish it within an hour so I could be with Frank and the guys. I pulled out all my paints and pencils and set up my easel. Within minutes I was covered in paint and was sucked into the movement of my brush.


	37. I Know

Frank's POV

"Why hasnt he called then?!"I shouted without meaning to,"I'm sorry."  
"No its okay. Just- why dont you call him?"Lily suggested.  
"Because I dont want him to realise just how much I'm freaking out about him. His hallucinations can drive him insane. He's only just become sure of reality and I dont want him to be alone if that gets ruined again,"I sighed and sat down next to her.

"Whats so bad about him knowing that?"Lily asked as she stood up and started stretching lights out.  
"I dont know... All I know is that he said he would be two hours tops and its been two and a half,"I sighed and pulled out my phone just as I heard a car pull up outside.

I jumped to my feet and ran over to the window to look outside,"He's here!"  
"Frank calm dow, if you dont want him to know you've been freaking out then get over here and help me with these lights,"Lily said behind me.  
"Right right,"I nodded and went over to her. I picked up the lights as Gerard walked in the front door.

"Hello all. Sorry I'm late,"He walked into the lounge holding a bag of something,"Where are the guys?"  
"Sleeping. Whats in the bag?"I asked innocently.  
"Your present. One of them anyway,"Gerard walked over to a table in the corner and set it down.

"Oh come on. You cant make me wait for yours! I hate waiting to open them all. I want to open it now this isnt fair,"I sighed and dropped the lights.  
"Frank, come on,"Lily grumbled.

"Yeah Frank, come on. Deal with it. Its worth the wat, trust me,"Gerard smiled.  
"Fuck you. I'm getting the guys up. The guys from my work are gonna be here soon so get ready,"I muttered and walked out.  
"I am ready. And I'm coming up."

We stomped upstairs without a word. When we reached the landing Gerard collapsed behind me.  
"Gerard?!"I spun around and dropped to my knees. He was lying on the ground, writhing around like he was in pain.  
"No! Get away!"He screeched. His hands started flying everywhere, he landed a fist on my thigh as I tried to get a hold of him.

"Someone help me!"I cried frantically. I couldnt get past his fists of fury to get a hold of him. In the end I started punching his legs, trying to shock him back to reality.  
"Whats going on? What the fuck!"Someone shouted behind me.  
"He's hallucinating I cant snap him out of it!"I crawled around to get closer to his head.

I wasnt sure if slapping his head would shock him enough to stop it, I just had no idea what to do. The other times he hallucinated in front of people, he would be silent. Almost like he was on autopilot. But this time, it was insane. I managed to get my hand in and slap his face hard. But nothing happened.

"He needs to feel pain in the hallucination for it to stop,"I said and stood up. I barely noticed all the guys standing behind me as I pulled my gun out of my back pocket and aimed it at him.  
"Frank what are you doing?!"Mikey grabbed my arm and tried to pull it back but I stayed strong.

"Leave it Mikey. Gerard,"I looked down at him. He froze and looked up at me, fear shining in his eyes,"I'm going to kill you for what you did."  
"No... Pumpkin. Please, Frank I love you. I didnt mean for that to happen! I love Claire!"  
I flinched for a second before saying,"It doesnt matter! I'm gonna kill you for it!"I shouted and pulled the trigger.

"No!"Mikey shouted.  
"Wait- I..."Gerard was lying flat on his back, holding his stomach like it was bleeding. But he wasnt. There was just a bullet embedded in the floor next to his head.  
"Frank you could have fucking killed him!"Mikey shouted and slapped the back of my head.  
"Fuck off I got him out of it!"I retorted and crouched down.

"How are you feeling, Gerard?"I asked softly. Everyone went quiet as he slowly sat up and looked around.  
"I- you- you shot me?"His eyes clocked my gun still in my hands,"But I- I dont feel anything. Am I dead?"

I sat the gun down next to me,"No. No of course not. You were having a hallucination and it was the worst one I've ever seen. You were yelling and your arms were going everywhere. I had to try and- this is gonna sound weird but it was like I was trying to get into your hallucination so I could snap you out of it."

Gerard looked down at his stomach before looking at the bullet in the ground next to him,"You actually shot at me?"  
"Well yeah. You cant fake a gunshot,"I stood up and held my hand out. He slowly reached up and took it. I hauled him to his feet and he stumbled backwards slightly.

"What if you had hit me?"He asked as I picked up my gun.  
"I- I wouldnt have. As vain as this sounds, I'm an excellent shot. You saw at the flippen target practice or whatever."  
"Well yeah but that doesnt mean anything!"Gerard glared at me before storming downstairs as the doorbell rang.

I watched as he yanked open the door without a word, left it open to a bewildered Melissa, George and Charlie and walked into the lounge as Mum walked out.  
"Hi guys! Frank's upstairs playing video games,"She smiled.  
"Isn't that him up there?"Melissa pointed up to me.

"Mum I'm up here,"I smiled and waved at them before shoving my hand behind my back, not even realising I had a gun in my hands.  
"Frank! Ahhh!"Charlie pushed past Mum and raced up the stairs to me. I tucked my gun into my pants as quickly as possible.

"Charlie my god its good to see you!"I gushed as he tackled me in a hug,"Seriously, when was the last time I saw you? Bout 3 or 4 months ago right?"  
Charlie was the same height as me and was the one who had got me my job in the first place. Today his hair was bright green. He changed it damn near every week.  
"About that, yeah. Too long. Anyway, happy birthday cutie!"He shouted in my ear as the guys squeezed past us and went downstairs.

"Thanks. Come on, I wanna see the others,"I let go of him and we went downstairs, Charlie going on about the drama happening at work. I went into the lounge where Melissa was talking to Lily and George was talking to Bob. Pete was bouncing Claire on his lap, Mum was putting presents on the present table and Gerard and Mikey were no where to be seen.

"So tell me! Whatcha been doing?"Charlie asked as he sat my present on the table.  
"Uhhh..."I caught Mum's eye and images of the gun training flashed in my mind,"Not much. Just working and I just got back from a visit from Jersey."  
"Oh you went back to Jersey! How long were you there for?"He asked as we poured ourselves a drink of Coke.

"Oh uh just a few days. I'm going back tomorrow,"I smiled and looked around for Gerard and Mikey. Mikey walked into the room looking pissed as fuck,"Can you excuse me a moment?"  
Before Charlie could say anything I set my drink down and walked over to Mikey.  
"You really upset him,"Mikey sighed.  
"Where is he?"  
"He went home."

"What?! He fucking went home?!"I shouted. The whole room went silent for a moment. I smiled round at everyone before grabbing Mikey and dragging him into the kitchen where Mum was mixing something in a bowl.  
"Yes. He went home because he needed some time alone. His hallucination was a bad one Frank. He's mad at you for shooting but right now, he's more shaken from the hallucination. Just give him some time okay?"

"You shot in my house?"Mum said suddenly.  
"Of course not,"I chuckled awkwardly and slowly backed out of the room.  
"Frank Iero if I find one sign that you did you are in big trouble! I dont care if its your birthday!"She shouted as I raced up the stairs.

I fell to the ground at the top and stared at the bullet protruding from the floor. No matter what I did with it, she was gonna notice either a bullet or a bullet hole. I was fucked. I just had to try and keep her downstairs for as long as possible. If she went upstairs in the dark she wouldnt see anything. In the morning, she'll be too tired to notice it. In total I had about 15 hours left of my life.

I stood up and went to get my phone from my bedroom. Just as I opened the door I heard the ringing stop.  
"Damn,"I muttered. I picked it up and checked caller id. Gerard. There were no messages or anything, just one missed call.

I called him back as I went back to the bullet. It kept ringing and ringing and ringing. He wasnt gonna pick up. I put it in my pocket and started trying to pry out the bullet from the wooden floor. It wasn't budging.  
"Frank! Get the door!"Mum shouted suddenly. I looked up and realised the doorbell was ringing.

I gave up on the bullet and dusted myself off before going downstairs. For some reason, I put one hand on my gun before I opened the door.  
"Hey Frank. Enjoying your birthday?"Malcolm smiled at me before walking in and kicking the door shut.

I pulled my gun out and aimed it at him,"Get out. Now."  
"Now now, if you dont put your gun away then all your friends are going to die. Gerard included. Now put that gun away,"He smiled at me.  
"Where is he? What have you done with him?"

"Oh he's safe for now. Cole and Chloe have got him in a nice and cosy chair,"He smiled,"Now. Are you gonna do as I say?"  
"Whats going- holy fuck,"Mum walked in,"Get the fuck out of my house right now,"She said in a deadly tone.  
"Linda Linda Linda,"Malcolm shook his head and walked over to her,"You werent here before so I'll tell you now. If you dont let me enjoy my son's eighteenth birthda party, I'll kill all of you."

"Frank shoot him,"Linda said desperately. Amazingly, no one had noticed this chat despite us being just out of view from the lounge door which was wide open.  
"I- I cant."  
"Why not?"  
"They've got Gerard,"I uttered out.

"What? Isnt he in the lounge?"  
"No he went to his apartment cause he was having a hallucination and the only way to snap him out of it was to make him think I was shooting him so I shot at him but only next to his head and-"

"You shot my floor?!"Linda darted around Malcolm to glare at me.  
"Mum dont you think there are more pressing matters at hand?"I asked, gesturing to Malcolm who was watching us with pleasure.  
"Right. Sorry. Malcolm, what do you want?"

"I told you I want to enjoy my sons birthday. Jesus woman you still dont listen do you?"He growled,"Frank. Put the gun away. Or Cole will kill Gerard. He's on the phone right now, listening to my every word. You pull the trigger, so does he."  
I looked at Mum who nodded slowly. I looked back at Malcom, giving him my darkest look,"Fuck you."

I tucked my gun back into my jeans and dropped my arms.  
"Thank you Frank. Now, lets go and play some party games shall we?"He winked at me and walked into the lounge.  
"Mum what do we do?"I asked desperately.  
"Keep him away from your sisters. I'll handle the rest,"She said firmly and walked in. I followed her to find Mikey standing by a table of food staring at Malcolm open mouthed, a look of fear and shock on his face.

I rushed over to him quickly before he said anything,"Dont. Be quiet. He has Gerard. Cole and Chloe followed us here and they have Gerard. Malcolms got them on the phone now so that if we try anything Cole will kill Gerard so we have to shut the fuck up and figure out what to do."  
"I- I- How- What-"Mikey stuttered.  
"I know."


	38. Reality

Gerard's POV

"I think I'm just gonna go over to my apartment for a bit. Tell Frankie for me will you?"I yawned. I felt terrible that I was leaving on his birthday but I knew I was gonna be back in a few hours anyway.  
"Alright. You want someone to drive you there?"Mikey looked at me sadly.

"No I'll be okay. I'm just gonna take a nap away from it all and then I'll come back,"I stood up and pushed my chair in.  
"Okay. Feel better soon okay?"Mikey gave me a quick hug before letting me sneak out into the hallway then out the front door.

About 5 minutes later I was back at my apartment. I locked the car doors before trudging through the doors. I was too tired and shaken to be bothered with the stairs so I decided to risk taking the elevator just this once. On the ride up I slumped against the wall, trying to ignore the images of Claire flashing in my mind.

"Fucking go away!"I shouted without meaning to. I could not stop the sound or the look on Claire's face from running through my mind. It was like the image was burned onto the inside of my eyelids. Her small frail body, limp in my hands. God it had felt so real. The beating and the gunshots. And then Frank... Jesus. I couldnt.

"No... No!"I bashed my fist against the wall, trying to make sure I was in reality. The doors dinged open and I threw myself out of the elevator. I hit the wall on the otherside and took off running towards my apartment. I struggled to unlock the door with my vision going blurry but I got there in the end. I couldnt even lock the door again. All I could do was slide down the back of it, letting the tears fall down my face as the sobs racked my body.

No matter how hard I tried I couldnt stop myself from crying. My eyes were so puffy I could barely see out of them. My face and neck were soaked with spit, snot and tears but still, I cried. After a minute I dragged myself onto the couch due to my butt going numb. I had quietened down to sniffling so thankfully I heard the door creak open even though it made no difference.

I jumped to my feet at the sight of Cole standing in the doorway. We both stared at each other, neither of us making a move. My gun was in my bedroom from when I had changed out of my clothes covered in paint. I made the mistake of looking to my bedroom door which meant that he thought I was going to move which made him aim a gun at me.  
"Make one move and you're dead."

I stayed still and waited.  
"I'm glad to see you're doing okay after our little campout in the forest,"He smiled and walked in.  
"Cole dont play up the drama. Its so annoying,"Chloe said as she walked in carrying a large briefcase.

As her and Cole started arguing I very carefully slipped my hand down into my pocket. I felt the buttons on my phone and hoped to god I was pressing the right ones. Hopefully I speed dialled Frank but I was never going to be able to pull it out and check.  
"Get your hand out of your pocket,"Cole said suddenly.

I yanked it out and held my hands up in defense.  
"Alright, lets get down to business. Let me see what I'm working with here,"Cole gave the gun to Chloe and strolled in,"Rose petals and candles? Wow, Gerard. I thought you might have been a bit more creative than that."

"Fuck you,"I croaked.  
"Ooh he speaks!"Cole grinned at me. He walked over to where Chloe was leaning against the wall, the gun aimed half assedly at me. He opened the briefcase and rummaged around in whatever was in there before producing a lighter.  
"I think we're going to have lots of fun tonight,"He smiled and started lighting all the candles around the room.


	39. All Too Real

Frank's POV

"Mum and I are going to Gerard's apartment. I need you to stay here and take care of everyone."  
"Done,"Mikey nodded.  
I glanced over his shoulder at Malcolm who was currently chatting to Melissa. He had been here an hour and so far he hadnt done anything to worry us. Except his presence of course. He was quite literally just here to enjoy my birthday party. Fucking weird.

"I want someone to take Claire and Lily upstairs. I dont want him near them. Okay?"Linda stared at Mikey hard.  
"Right you are. I'll get Bob to. The rest of us will stay down here. I wont let him out of my sight. You dont need to worry about a thing."

"I'll try my best not to,"I sighed,"Mum can we please go now?"I asked impatiently.  
"Alright come on then. Uhhh Frank and I are just going to go pick Gerard up!"Linda called suddenly,"He was feeling sick and went to his place for a nap but now he wants to come back so Frank and I are gonna get him. You guys stay here though. Party on, heh."

I looked over to wear Malcolm was pulling out his phone. He winked at me and slipped it back into his pocket. Mum stopped Lily from walking past her and took Claire from her.  
"Frank and I are gonna pick Gerard up okay sweetie? I want you to stay in your room with Bob and Lily until I get back."

"Okay Mummy,"She smiled and kissed Mum on the cheek. Mum pulled Lily into a hug and whispered something in her ear before sighing and walking out. I gave Lily and Claire a quick hug before following Mum out. We drove in silence, not one word being said. There wasnt really much to say.

Mum started to get out of the car but I stopped her,"I need you to be down here for a quick getaway."  
"No but I-"  
"No buts Mum. I dont want you going in there and I wont let you in. You're staying here for a quick getaway.

She sighed and nodded at me so I got out of the car, making sure my gun was fully loaded. I carefully opened the door to the stairs and rushed up them as fast as possible, panting when I got to the top. I opened the door out into the corridor and shivered at the darkness.

People's halloween decorations were on some of the doors so everynow and then as I crept down to Gerard's place, a scary face would loom out of the darkness at me. The building was weirdly silent right now. I couldnt hear a fucking thing and it only put me on edge even more.

I reached Gerard's door to find it slightly open. I pushed it open carefully and looked inside. I almost cried at the sight. There were rose petals everywhere. And there was black and red candles lit everywhere as well. If it hadnt been for the fact that Gerard wasnt here then I would have cried with happiness. It was the sweetest thing ever and I was probably never going to enjoy it.

"Gerard?"I called softly. I went to take a step in but stopped. I looked down to see the very thin wire, almost invisible trip wire. I followed it and saw it connected somehow to a greneade or something. Fuck. I carefully stepped over it and walked in properly. The only possible sign of a struggle was next to the couch where some rose petals had been smudged into the carpet from being stood on. The coffee table had moved an inch but otherwise there was nothing.

A quick check in the bedrooms and bathrooms proved that I was the only one in there. I sighed and decided to go into Chloe's apartment. The door was shut and when I started to open it, someone yanked it out of my hands and grabbed me before I had a chance to react.

"Get the fuck off of me!"I shouted and struggled against the strong hands wrapping rope around my hands.  
"Shut the fuck up,"They growled in my ear. I stopped struggling and looked around. Cole and Chloe were sitting on a couch together, facing me with the smuggest looks on their faces. Directly across from them was two chairs, facing them, and on one of them sat Gerard staring at me through puffy eyes. He had been crying.

"Gerard!"I shouted and started pointlessly struggling again. I was dragged over to sit in the seat next to Gerard. As soon as I was sitting down someone put tape over my mouth like Gerard's. In the next second I was tied to the seat. I strained against the ropes before giving up and staring at Cole's thoughtful face.

He got up and came over to me,"Dont get the wrong idea with this. I just need your phone,"He said as he started patting my legs to feel for my phone. I couldnt exactly say anything so I just stared at him. Whatever he was going to do could not be good.

"Thats Linda in the car, yes?"He waited for me to nod or shake my head but I did neither,"I'll take that as a yes then."  
He started texting. He was going to text her and get her up here. No. No she would go to Gerard's apartment. She has no idea about Chloe's apartment. No.

I looked at Gerard desperately to see him looking at his lap, tears dripping from his nose as he shook his head. Suddenly my phone was being held in my face. I focused on it and read the message.

mum, more people than expected. they havent seen me yet and i could use some backup. i'll be outside gerards apartment. hurry.

I started screaming against the tape, pulling and tugging away from the chair as Cole started laughing. Even though it was pointless, I kept struggling. I couldnt just sit there. The guy who had tied me up walked over from the door and said,"Cole, she's almost to the top of the stairs. You need to shut him up."

"Frank fuck up. If you dont I'll get Malcolm to pull the pin on the explosives he's got with him."  
I fell weak. Tears streamed down my face as I heard my Mum's soft footsteps go past the door. My body shook with tears as she called for me softly. No. I glanced at Gerard who was silently straining and pulling at his bonds.

Gerard's POV

My ankles were burning, my wrists were burning, and yet I still kept struggling. I dont know how I managed to stay silent. It had been pointless to try earlier but one last try had given me hope when the rops on my right arm had given way the tiniest bit. I looked up at Cole, before looking at Frank. He was breathing heavily through his nose, trying his best not to make a noise. Linda must have been at my place by now.

As if to confirm my thoughts I heard the explosion go off. Frank started screaming against his tape, his eyes begging to be killed.  
"Wesley! Go check if she's dead,"Cole sighed, looking bored as he watched Frank's broken face.

A minute later there was a gunshot, intensifying the amount of shaking Frank was doing. Wesley came back in and said,"Now she is."  
"Brilliant,"Cole clapped his hands and pulled his phone out,"Malcolm you can leave now. You did a good job. I need you to meet me at the airport okay?"

He hung up and looked down at us before ripping the tape off of our mouths. Frank's sobs filled the room straight away.  
"Cole... How could you? She has had absolutely nothing to do with this,"I croaked.  
"Oh but she has so much to do with it! She supplies you with guns. She is your boyfriends mother. A very good friend of yours. How can you not see why I needed to do that?"

I glared at him as he started walking away,"Oh Chloe? Untie one of Gerard's arms before you go?"  
"Ooh arent you lucky. I thought he was gonna leave you like this,"She smiled at me. As soon as she had untied my right arm I swung it out and clipped her in the jaw.

"Ugh! Ouch that hurt!"She staggered backwards, her hand gripping her face,"You bastard."  
"Fuck you!"I shouted as she walked out. I started untying my other arm so I could get Frank untied. As soon as we were both untied I stood up and Frank fell into my arms, sobbing heavily against my body.

"Shhh, I know Frank,"I whispered. I slowly started walking him towards the door. I couldnt even care that we could possibly catch Chloe and Cole. I was too blinded by the hope that this was a hallucination but deep down I knew that wouldnt be the case. It was all too real.

Frank and I slowly pushed open the door to see a big black mess. There was a small fire burning on the couch, growing larger by the second. Her body was in front of the coffee table. All black with soot. Except for the thick red blood flowing from her stomach.

"Oh god,"Frank uttered out at the sight of her. He let go of me and fell down to his knees, crawling through the debris to her,"Mum,"He whispered and somehow picked her torso up to cradle it. I got down on my knees next to her as the shock of it hit me and Frank's heaving sobs filled the night.


	40. Heaven Or Hell?

Heaven Or Hell?

Death fucks me off. You're never going to know what its like until it happens, and when you do find out, you cant tell anybody what happens so everyone is left wondering and waiting. Do you just become a ghost? Left to live among the living, unseen and forgotten? Or do you go to a better place where everyone you love is. Or is there a heaven and a hell. A purgatory to be sorted into your afterlife destination. Heaven or Hell? Its a tough choice that you cant even make.

I like to think that there is an afterlife. That we forget all the hearbreak, torment, happiness, grief and laughter we've experienced and start a new life with all the knowledge of our mistakes. Not having the memories, but the common sense not to make the same mistakes. Frank thinks differently. He thinks there is a heaven and hell. There is some higher power that doesnt love us all like we've been told, but does decide if you get to go to heaven. He believes there is a devil downstairs to punish us for our "sins."

He also believes he is going to hell. For half an hour he sat with Linda and has been blaming himself for her death. He says he should have known we would be in Chloe's apartment. He should have been more aware. He says that if he hadnt been stupid enough to open the door calmly then he never would have been tied up which lead to Cole texting Linda from his phone. No matter what I say he wont stop muttering about it all being his fault.

Because of the grenade going off, people had obviously heard and had called the cops. Frank didnt say one word to the cops. He just reluctantly let go of her body then clung to me, burying himself in my jacket and sniffing. I had told the police that we had just gotten home when the explosion had gone off. We had gone up to find her lying on the ground with the bullet in her. They seemed to have bought it, what with Frank's insane sobbing. But I think it was more letting Frank get over it before they talked to us. They took down our numbers and said they'd call us if they find anything.

Right now I was driving Frank back to his house to clean himself up. I had text Mikey and told him what happened so Frank didnt have to. He was slumped against the car door, staring out at the dark stores as we drove. The last thing he said was about twenty minutes ago. That he wanted to go home and to bed. That was it. He wouldnt answer my questions about him eating something first or anything at all. He was just silent.

I pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. I looked over at Frank who didnt seem to have noticed that we were here.  
"Frank?"I said softly. He didnt react. I undid my seatbelt and leaned over. He was asleep. I sighed and got out of the car as quietly as possible as Mikey walked out the front door.

"How is he?"He asked in a grave voice.  
"Not good. He's asleep right now though so I'm not sure what to do with him,"I looked through the dark windows to my poor baby sleeping uncomfortably.  
"Can you carry him upstairs?"  
"Yeah... He's covered in blood though. He needs a shower. I dont want him waking up in that state."

Without waiting for an answer I walked over to the car and carefully opened the door, sticking my hand in to stop him from falling out.  
"Frankie? Pumpkin?"I said as I somehow got between him and the door. He mumbled something incoherent so I carefully slid an arm under his legs and one around his shoulders.

Very gently I pulled him out of the car and up the path to the house. The guys were all in the lounge looking sombre as I silently managed to carry Frank upstairs to the bathroom.  
"Frankie?"I looked down at his face, snuggled against my chest.  
His eyes slowly fluttered open,"Gerard please just put me to bed,"He said in a dead tone.

"I want you to take a shower first okay?"I said as I slowly set him down.  
"I just want to go to sleep for a couple of years okay?"He sighed and stood there.  
"Alright,"I sighed. I put the plug in and started filling up the bath. I went back to Frank and pulled his jacket off. He didnt put up a fight so I continued stripping him down, throwing the bloody clothes into the corner.

"Frankie can you lift your leg up for a second for me?"I asked softly. His leg went up in answer and then the next one when I tapped it. I turned the water off and turned the shower on.  
"I dont want to bathe in bloody water,"I muttered when Frank looked at me confusedly. I stripped off of my clothes and pulled Frank into the shower with me.

I wrapped my arms around him and held him close as the hot water cascaded over us. I made sure Frank didnt look at the bloody water circling the drain. I kept him looking up at me, neither of us saying a word. When the water ran clear, I turned it off and silently prodded at Frank to get in the bath.

Without a word, slipped into the hot water. Frank was at my side, both of us submerged to the neck, and his arms were around my waist. I managed to get one arm around his shoulder. Once we were both comfortable, I felt the tears start slipping down my cheeks. We were both crying over the loss of the greatest woman we knew. She had been like my second Mum and I was devastated. Now that we I wasnt focusing on telling the police something, or driving us both home, the grief was washing over me like the water in the shower and I had no idea how to deal with it again.

"I deserve to go to hell,"Frank sniffed suddenly.  
"Frank. Listen to me. This is not your fault. If you wanna backtrack from the cause of her death, keep going. Cole is the one who set it all up. He is the one who started this stupid fucking war. If you want someone to blame, blame him. Its all on him, Frankie."  
Frank took in a deep breath and I felt him nod against my chest.

"If its the last thing I do, I'm going to kill him. This is going to sound cliche but I'm going to avenge Mum. I'm going to avenge Kevin's Dad. I'm going to avenge Chris and Derek and John. They didnt deserve to die. They were good guys. The were kind and loving and did not need to die on a mission to find you. I'm going to avenge everyone that is dead because of Cole. No matter what, he is going to go to hell."

The End


End file.
